Depression in persons with physical disabilities may be more common than in the general population. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between physical disability and depression by gender among adults, using a large, nationally representative sample. This study used data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging, Wave one through four, and ran a series of random effect panel regression models to test the relationship between physical disability status and depression by gender. We tested the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between disability status and depression level by examining the significance of the cross-product term between disability status and gender. After controlling for self-rated health, marital status, employment status, education, and age, subjects who were female or diagnosed as having any disability presented higher levels of depression scores. Further, the difference in terms of their depression level measured by Center for Epidemiologic Studies Short Depression Scale (CES-D 10) scores between those who were diagnosed as having any disability and those who were not was greater for females than for their male counterparts. This study reaffirmed that disability is the risk factor of depression, using longitudinal data. In addition, female gender is the effect modifier rather than the risk factor. The effect of gender in the non-disability group, mostly composed of older persons, is limited. On the contrary, the female disability group showed more depressive symptoms than the male disability group. The gender difference in the disability group and the role of culture on these differences need further research.

The relationship between weight problems and depression has been the focus of many studies; however, results from these studies vary. The purpose of this study is to describe the association between depression and BMI using data from a national sample of middle aged and older Koreans and to examine whether gender moderates the relationship between depression and weight. We used data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA). Of the 7,920 respondents that participated in KLoSA in 2010, 7,672 adults aged between 50 and 102 years were included in the final analysis. The relationship between depression and obesity status was examined in both the full sample and in sub-samples stratified by gender. The observed U-shaped association between obesity status and CES-D score was tested by regressing CES-D score on linear and quadratic terms of BMI scores. The distribution of CES-D scores by respondents’ obesity status (i.e., underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese and severely obese) showed a U-shaped association. Specifically, the highest CES-D scores were found in underweight individuals; this was followed by the severely obese and obese groups in the full sample and in gender-specific subsamples. The lowest CES-D scores were found in the overweight group when considering the entire population and males alone and in the normal weight group for females. This U-shaped association between CES-D and obesity status was confirmed by a model in which CES-D scores were regressed on BMI scores and other covariates. This study found a U-shaped association between BMI and levels of depressive symptoms among adults in Korea overall and also within each gender. Specifically, the highest level of depressive symptoms was found among the underweight, followed by the severely obese and then the obese. Slightly different patterns between male and female adults were found regarding the weight status associated with the fewest depressive symptoms.

There are many studies examining the relationship between body image and weight status that compare Western and Asian countries. One limitation of these past studies was assuming that all Asian countries are a homogeneous group. To fill the gap in the literature, this study examined the relationship between body image and weight status between participants from two Asian countries. This study utilized data from the 2010 module of the East Asian Social Survey from South Korea (n = 1576) and Taiwan (n = 2199), which contained questions related to body image. Body image was originally measured using a five-point Likert-type question, which was collapsed into three categories for the analysis. Weight status was derived from body mass index scores, which were calculated using self-reported weight and height. A set of multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the relationship between body image and weight status, stratified by country. A significant relationship between body image and weight status after controlling for relevant covariates was reaffirmed in this study in the South Korean and Taiwanese. Results indicated that the relationship between body image and weight status of the Taiwanese sample was similar to the relationship in the South Korean sample. However, the results from a further analysis showed that the strength of the relationship across the two Asian countries appeared to be different. The weight over-perception was more evident in South Korea than in Taiwan. Females were more vulnerable to societal pressures for thinness and the misperception of the ideal body than males. Interventions to improve distorted body image perception were needed in both countries.

Objective To test whether physical activity and sedentary behaviors are associated with perceived and structural neighborhood conditions. Design Secondary analysis of data from wave I (1994-1995) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health in the United States. Setting In-home interviews of adolescents and their parents. Participants Thirteen thousand six hundred sixty-eight adolescents (6794 adolescent boys and 6874 adolescent girls; grades 7-12). Main Exposures Perceived neighborhood conditions (public nuisance, acquaintanceship, and informal control measured at both individual and census tract levels) and structural neighborhood characteristics (concentrated poverty, immigrant concentration, and residential stability at the census tract level). Outcome Measures Failure to meet moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) guidelines (2 hours per day). Results Individual-level perception of intermediate (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.68-0.84) or high (OR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.50-0.61) acquaintanceship and high informal control (OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82-0.99) in the neighborhood were negatively associated with failure to meet the MVPA guidelines compared with lower levels. At the census tract level, high informal control (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.04-1.29) and intermediate (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.01-1.26) and high (OR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.06-1.40) concentrated poverty compared with lower levels were also associated with failing to meet the MVPA guidelines (when adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics). Compared with the lowest levels, high public nuisance (OR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.04-1.36) and immigrant concentration (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.01-1.38) at the census tract level were associated with excessive screen time. Conclusion These findings suggest that both perceptual and structural neighborhood factors should be considered to understand adolescents' physical activity and sedentary behaviors.

Retirement is one of the most important later-life status transitions related to changes in workforce participation, lifestyle, and social roles among older adults. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of retirement on depressive symptoms by gender in middle-aged and older adult Koreans, using a large, nationally representative sample. Using year 2010 and 2012 data from the Korea Longitudinal Study of Aging, we investigated the relationship between adults’ retirement status and depressive symptoms measured by the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies–Depression (CES-D10) scale. A series of propensity score matching models were calculated to test the potential retirement effect on adults’ depressive symptoms. Overall, the level of depressive symptoms of the retired group was not different from that of the employed counterpart. In gender-stratified models, the gain of CES-D10 scores in the retired group was higher than that of the employed group for males, which was in the opposite direction among females. However, the propensity score matching model showed that the relationship between retirement status and CES-D10 score gain was significant for males but not for females. Our study reinforces the assertion that retirement could worsen depressive symptoms and could differ by gender. Intervention programs focused on the mental health of retired men need to be actively developed and widely implemented.