The objective was to estimate the prevalence and correlates of psychiatric disorders in a nationwide sample of Korean adults. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with the Korean version of Composite International Diagnostic Interview 2.1/DSM-IV (N = 6275, response rate 79.8%). The lifetime and 12-month prevalences for all types of DSM-IV disorders were 33.5% and 20.6%, respectively. Those of specific disorders were as follows: 17.2% and 7.1% for alcohol use disorder, 11.2% and 7.4% for nicotine use disorder, 5.2% and 4.2% for specific phobia, 4.3% and 1.7% for major depressive disorder, and 2.3% and 1.0% for generalized anxiety disorder. Among the sociodemographic variables, widowed status, higher income, and rural residence were the risk factors for both lifetime major depressive disorder and alcohol use disorder after controlling for gender, age, and education. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders was higher than those observed in other East-Asian countries and most European countries, but lower than that in the United States. Alcohol use disorder was particularly high in Korea.

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In this study, we examined the relationship between depressive symptoms and needle-sharing behavior in a community sample of intravenous drug users (N = 499) in Baltimore, Maryland. Based on the polytomous logistic regression, higher depressive symptoms were positively associated both with needle sharing after cleaning with bleach and with needle sharing without first cleaning with bleach at the bivariate analyses. This relationship remained significant (OR = 1.66) even after adjusting for demographic characteristics, life events, drug use patterns, and social and drug networks. A significant synergistic effect of depressive symptoms and drug network on needle sharing after cleaning with bleach and needle sharing without cleaning was observed. More depressed intravenous drug users who also had a larger drug network were found to be at higher risk of needle sharing after cleaning with bleach, as well as needle sharing without cleaning (OR = 2.59). Depression status is discussed as a predisposing factor and drug network size as a precipitating factor for needle-sharing behavior. Implications for preventing needle-sharing behavior by reducing depressive symptoms are discussed.

A few studies have been conducted on the prevalence of partial posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but points of agreement and disagreement between full and partial PTSD have not been fully investigated. We interviewed a representative sample of 6,258 subjects, ages 18-64 years, in household visits using the Korean version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (K-CIDI 2.1). "Partial PTSD" was defined as >/=1 symptom in each of the three symptom groups (Criteria B, C, and D) and duration of >/=1 month (Criterion E). Estimated lifetime prevalence of partial PTSD was 2.7%, and that of full PTSD was 1.7%. A "female gender" risk factor was significantly associated with both partial and full PTSD. The mean duration of partial PTSD was 6.5 years, which was not significantly different from the 5.7 year duration of full PTSD. Traumas associated with the development of partial rather than full PTSD were "natural disaster with fire" and "military combat" in men, and "witnessing a traumatic situation" and "learning about traumas to others" in women, whereas "threatened by others" was more associated with the development of full PTSD. The rates of multiple comorbid disorders and of comorbid major depressive disorder and dysfunctions in work during the 1-month period prior to interview did not differ significantly between the partial and full PTSD groups. In conclusion, partial PTSD did not differ significantly from full PTSD in terms of duration, comorbidity, and dysfunction, but they differed markedly in terms of associated trauma types.

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