However, only 15 percent of patients received medical treatment for depression, which is not even half of the corresponding figure in the US, at 39.2 percent. Moreover, South Koreans tend to hesitate and delay seeking professional help, which causes the condition to worse and makes treatment more difficult.
What is the depression rate in South Korea?
How does South Korea treat their elderly?
Do Koreans go to therapy?
How much does South Korea spend on mental health?
Do Koreans take care of their elderly?
Why are elderly so poor in Korea?
How is mental health in Korea?
Do Koreans believe in depression?
Is there therapy in North Korea?
What is the rate of depression in South Korea?
Between 17.8 and 27.9 percent of those aged 65 or older in South Korea are likely to suffer from depression, significantly higher than the rate in other countries. Factors associated with late life depression in Korea include illiteracy, living alone, poverty, low education, smoking, head trauma, and intellectual disability. The high rate of depression among Korean elders may be a result of the rapidly aging population and the dissolution of the tradition of children caring for their aging parents. Government social services for the elderly, such as the Law of Elderly Welfare, are inadequate to provide for the growing population's needs, contributing to mental illness within the demographic.
How many Koreans have depression?
Among a sample of elderly Koreans living in the United States, 34% were found to have depression, less than a fifth of which had ever seen a mental health professional. The majority of older Koreans living in the United States exhibited a negative perception of mental health services.
Is mental health underfunded in South Korea?
South Korea has state-funded mental health services, the majority of which are inpatient hospital facilities, but they are largely underfunded and underutilized. Despite the prevalence of mental illness, social stigma remains prevalent throughout the South Korean population, which discourages sufferers from seeking treatment.
Is mental illness prevalent in South Korea?
Despite the prevalence of mental illness, social stigma remains prevalent throughout the South Korean population, which discourages sufferers from seeking treatment. Mental illness, while present across all demographic groups, is most common among the elderly and adolescents in South Korea.
Does South Korea have mental health laws?
South Korean law prohibits workplace discrimination based on mental health conditions, but discrimination persists due to the lack of enforcement of such legislation. Psychiatrists and other mental health professionals are well-trained and numerous, but mental healthcare remains isolated from primary care, still a major contributor to South Korea's strong stigma against mental healthcare. Mental health medication is widely available, and almost all medications available to patients in the West are available in South Korea. The universal health coverage as provided by the state means that the majority of South Koreans can afford medicine and treatment for mental illness, but stigma often discourages people from utilizing their health coverage.
What was the impact of economic hardship in South Korea in the 1990s?
Economic hardship during the late 1990s led to a sharp increase in mental illness and suicide in South Korea, as well as almost all other Asian countries that the economic depression affected. Social stigma within the South Korean population likewise discourages people from initially seeking treatment, exacerbating the severity of mental illness. ...
How did the economic crisis affect South Korea?
Economic hardship during the late 1990s led to a sharp increase in mental illness and suicide in South Korea, as well as almost all other Asian countries that the economic depression affected. Social stigma within the South Korean population likewise discourages people from initially seeking treatment, exacerbating the severity of mental illness. Cultural factors other than stigma, such as binge-drinking, may also contribute to mental health issues within South Korean society. Due to Korea’s societal, academic and corporate structure, Koreans are placed under substantial stress from a relatively young age. South Koreans are known for their intelligence and incredible work ethic; these qualities contribute significantly to the economy but also place the people who drive the economy under immense pressure. Korean children and adolescents are placed in an education system that has a relentless focus on intellectual excellence, with anything less than such considered unacceptable. Suicide is the leading cause of death for adolescent Koreans, making suicide a suffocating reality in school systems. Korean students face not only academic pressure, but also the common stressors that the average student faces in any school setting. Social exclusion is a contributing factor to depression amongst Koreans aged from 10-19. In school systems children are victimized for their economic status or for other trivial reasons. Korean students are encouraged to excel above their peers which encourages a competitive environment welcoming hostility amongst peers. Korean students who have been bullied are said to have lower tests scores, lower self-esteem and increased levels of anxiety, making them more likely to become victims of depression.
Is depression in South Korea lower than in other countries?
However, the prevalence of depression in South Korea has been reported to be much lower than in other countries . The current study aims to estimate the prevalence of major depressive disorder using a large representative sample of the South Korean population. The prevalence of depression in a sampled population of one million individuals increased ...
Who funded the Korea Health Industry Development Institute?
This research was supported by a Grant of Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (Grant No. HI18C0446).
Is depression more prevalent in males or females?
The table shows that depression was more prevalent in females than in males, and in older people than in young people. The prevalence of depression was significantly higher in people from the lowest or highest income percentiles than in those belonging to the middle-ranged income percentile.
Is depression higher in the middle or lower income percentile?
The prevalence of depression was significantly higher in people from the lowest or highest income percentiles than in those belonging to the middle-ranged income percentile. It was also significantly higher in people from non-metropolitan areas than in those from metropolitan areas.
What is the ICd 10 code for depression?
Depression was defined using the ICD-10 codes for depression (F32.0, F32.1, F32.2, F32.3, F32.8, F32.9, F33.0, F33.1, F33.2, F33.3, F33.4, F33.8, and F33.9). Identification of depression done solely based on diagnosis can be misleading due to the possibility of over-inclusion or misdiagnosis 69. Therefore, we investigated the prevalence of two more categories of depression. One was the prevalence of depression diagnosis and a history of antidepressant treatment (‘Dx and Mx’ group), and the other was prevalence of depression diagnosis or a history of antidepressant treatment (‘Dx or Mx’ group). The ‘Dx and Mx’ and ‘Dx or Mx’ groups were identified based on the availability of patient claims records with a diagnosis of depression along with records of prescription of antidepressants, and of claims records with a diagnosis of depression or records of prescription of antidepressants, respectively. Here, antidepressants included all in the market available in South Korea during the study period: Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors, Norepinephrine-Dopamine Reuptake Inhibitors, Tricyclic antidepressants, Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors.
Do boys have more depression than girls?
Few studies have been conducted on sex differences with respect to the prevalence of depression in children. One study has reported that boys experience more depressive symptoms than girls, and after puberty, the prevalence of depression in women is significantly higher than in men 54.
How many elderly people are depressed in Korea?
Almost 95 percent of Koreans report being stressed, a third of them chronically. According to one study, up to 28 percent of elderly Koreans are depressed, compared with 10 to 15 percent in the U.S. But, crucially, elderly people in Korea don’t think they are depressed, or at least they don’t want to admit it, with a tiny fraction actually seeking ...
Does Korea have mental health issues?
This represents a trend across the spectrum of unreported mental health issues in Korea. In fact, a recent government study found that the vast majority of suicide victims had recently sought medical treatment not for mental health issues, but for physical symptoms such as fatigue, poor concentration, abdominal pain and headaches.
Which country has the lowest antidepressant use?
And indeed, despite the country’s problems with mental health, South Korea has the lowest rate of antidepressant use in the OECD. And while many Americans might report stress when seeing news headlines scroll in from the Korean Peninsula, geopolitical worries with the North are routinely at the bottom of perceived stressors in surveys ...
Do elderly people live alone in South Korea?
Loneliness can be as difficult to deal with as being poor. South Korea's Confucian tradition has weakened, and now elderly South Koreans increasingly live alone.
Does South Korea have a pension?
And the limited pension isn't universal. Only about 35 percent of seniors receive one.
Which country has the worst senior poverty rate?
South Korea may be known for its high-tech advances, luxury skin care products and rapid economic rise, but these days, the generation largely responsible for all that growth isn't faring so well. South Korea has the worst senior poverty rate among developed nations, and the options for seniors are slim. On Thursdays, churches give out 500 won ...
How long will women live in South Korea?
E arlier this year, an international team of scientists made the stunning prediction that women in South Korea born in 2030 can expect to live, on average, until they are 90 , taking them past Japan to the summit of the global longevity table. The study, published in the Lancet, marked the first time average lifespans for men ...
Why are elderly people unable to put aside enough savings for later in life?
“While they were still working,” says Shin, “many elderly people were unable to put aside enough savings for later in life because they spent too much on their children’s education.”.
Why are elderly people unable to save for later life?
“While they were still working,” says Shin, “many elderly people were unable to put aside enough savings for later in life because they spent too much on their children’s education.”.
How old is Kim Jin-yang?
Among the park’s regular visitors is Kim Jin-yang, a 72-year-old who fought in the Vietnam war, receives a veteran’s payment on top of his basic pension and has developed health problems caused by exposure to Agent Orange.