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

Abstract

AimThe aim of the present study was to show an association between restricted activity related to chronic diseases and suicidal ideation (SI) in elderly Korean adults after adjusting for age, sex, mental health status, socioeconomic position and health behavior factors. MethodsThe study sample included 3545 Korean men (n=1473) and women (n=2073), aged over 65 years from the 2007-2009 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey carried out by the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Korea. Participants were classified into two groups based on whether they had previously experienced suicidal thoughts. Restricted activity was related to chronic conditions, such as cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular accident and so on. We analyzed the data using Student's t-test or (2)-test. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association between restricted activity as the independent variable and SI as the dependent variable after adjustment for confounders. ResultsThe proportion of participants with SI population was 29.1%. People with SI reported a significantly higher proportion of restrictive activity (62.3%) than those who did not have SI (34.5%). The adjusted risk excess (OR) of SI was statistically significant with regard to restricted activity (2.11, 95% CI 1.65-2.70; 2.85, 95% CI 1.95-4.15) in males; 1.69 (95% CI 1.22-2.34) in females after adjustment for potential confounders. In particular, women who lived alone showed high adjusted OR (1.50, 95% CI 1.01-2.24). ConclusionsStatistical 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. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2014; 14: 983-988.