Prevalence and Correlates of DSM-IV Mental Disorders in South Korean Adults: The Korean Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study 2011

Abstract

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and correlates of mental disorders in Korean adults.MethodsDoor to door household surveys were conducted with community residents aged 18-74 years from July 19, 2011, to November 16, 2011 (n=6,022, response rate 78.7%). The sample was drawn from 12 catchment areas using a multistage cluster method. Each subject was assessed using the Korean version of the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV).ResultsLifetime and 12-month prevalence estimates were as follows: alcohol use disorders, 13.4% and 4.4%, respectively; nicotine use disorders, 7.2% and 4.0%, respectively; anxiety disorders, 8.7% and 6.8%, respectively; and mood disorders, 7.5% and 3.6%, respectively. The prevalence rates of all types of DSM-IV mental disorders were 27.6% and 16.0%, respectively. Being female; young; divorced, separated, or widowed; and in a low-income group were associated with mood and anxiety disorders after adjustment for various demographic variables, whereas being male and young were associated with alcohol use disorders. Higher income was not correlated with alcohol use disorder as it had been in the 2001 survey.ConclusionThe rate of depressive disorders has increased since 2001 (the first national survey), whereas that of anxiety disorders has been relatively stable. The prevalence of nicotine and alcohol use disorders has decreased, and the male-to-female ratio of those with this diagnosis has also decreased.

Lifetime prevalence, sociodemographic correlates, and diagnostic overlaps of bipolar spectrum disorder in the general population of South Korea

“…It is comparable to the 3.7% reported by Hirschfeld et al (2003a) using the original MDQ, and substantially higher than 0.2% of BP (BP-I and -II) from the recent KECA-2011 (Cho et al, 2015). Conventionally, the prevalence of BP has been reported to be relatively low.…”

“…Using the K-CIDI, the total lifetime prevalence of BP-I and -II has been reported to be 0.2-0.3% in the KECA (Cho et al, 2007), the KECA-R (Cho et al, 2010), and the KECA-2011 (Cho et al, 2015). These rates are substantially lower than the previous results assessed with CIDI 3.0 from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R) in the US (2.5%) (Kessler et al, 2012b).…”

“…In particular, panic disorder was quite less prevalent among South Korean adults with BPS (0.7%) compared to the high prevalence of panic attacks among participants with BPS in NCS-R (61.9%) and WMH (49.8%) studies (Merikangas et al, 2007(Merikangas et al, , 2011. This substantial discrepancy might be attributable to the fact that the reported lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders in the South Korean population (8.7%) was much lower than that in the Western countries (9.9% through 31.0%) (Cho et al, 2015;Kessler et al, 2007). On the other hand, the 51.9% lifetime comorbidity with substance use disorder (44.9% and 23.2% for alcohol and nicotine use disorders, respectively) among BPS-positive participants in our study is comparable to the previous results from NCS-R (42.3%) and WMH (36.6%) surveys (Merikangas et al, 2007(Merikangas et al, , 2011.…”

“…As Chang et al (2008) revealed, South Korean adults have significant differences in symptom patterns and as well as higher diagnostic thresholds for MDD compared to those in the US (Chang et al, 2008). The researchers postulated that these cross-national differences might have contributed to the lower lifetime prevalence of MDD in South Korea than in the US (6.7% vs 16.6%, respectively) (Cho et al, 2015;Kessler et al, 2005). The possible under-diagnosis of MDD might also have caused the reported prevalence of MDD among the subjects with BPS to be lower than the actual one.…”

“…The 2011 Korean Epidemiologic Catchment Area study (KECA-2011) was a nationally representative survey on mental illness conducted between July 19, 2011, and November 16, 2011(Cho et al, 2015. The target population included all non-institutionalized and eligible South Koreans aged 18-74.…”