Association between restriction of activity related to chronic diseases and suicidal ideation in older adults in Korea

Abstract

Statistical analyses from this community-based, random sample drawn from a selected sample of the elderly Korean population showed that restricted activity appears to be significantly associated with SI.

Living arrangements and suicidal ideation among the Korean older adults

“…Prior research found no association between age and suicidal ideation (Awata et al, 2005; Jang et al, 2014; Jeon et al, 2007), but our study showed that age is negatively associated with suicidal ideation. As expected, poor health and limited daily activities significantly increase suicidal ideation (Jang et al, 2014; Jeon et al, 2007).…”

“…Comparing with two previous studies (Jang et al, 2014; Jeon et al, 2007) that look at Korean older adults using the 2001 (N=930) and 2007-9 (N=3,545) Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), we find our result that men living alone are more likely to have suicidal thoughts is consistent with Jeon et al (2007), but we do not find widowed women living with children or others to be more likely to have suicidal ideation. The difference may come from the Jeon et al (2007) having very few respondents for some living arrangements (e.g., only 21 men who lived alone and only 27 men who were widowed but lived with children or others), and from Jeon et al conflating categories of living arrangements (e.g., grouping together both those living with children and those living with others without their children).…”

“…The difference may come from the Jeon et al (2007) having very few respondents for some living arrangements (e.g., only 21 men who lived alone and only 27 men who were widowed but lived with children or others), and from Jeon et al conflating categories of living arrangements (e.g., grouping together both those living with children and those living with others without their children). It is more difficult to compare our result with Jang et al (2014)’s study because they only have two living-arrangement groups—“living together (with a partner)” and “living alone”—which showed that both men and women who live alone are more likely to have suicidal ideation.…”

“…Finally, controlling socio-demographic variables, we used binary logistic regression models to examine the relationship between living arrangements and suicidal ideation. We analyzed men and women separately because living arrangements may have different implications for suicidal ideation among them (Jang et al, 2014; Jeon et al, 2007; Lee & Lee, 2011). …”

“…Jeon, Jang, Rhee, Kawachi, and Cho (2007) found that, for both men and women, the widowed who live with children are more likely to experience suicidal ideation than those who live with only their spouse, and that men (but not women) living alone are also more likely to experience suicidal ideation. Yet, Jang et al (2014) found that older women who live alone are more likely than women who do not to experience suicidal ideation, and that differences in men do not differ significantly in suicidal ideation by living arrangements.…”