Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health

Original Articles

The Role of Family Interaction Frequency on Depressive Symptoms in Korean Older Adults Aged ≥80 and Living Alone: Horim A. Hwang, Bo Yung Bae, Hyunsuk Jeong, Minsun Yun, Jungeun Choi, Yujin Jeong, Hyeon Woo Yim; J Prev Med Public Health. 2026;59(1):86-94. Published online December 1, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.25.222

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Abstract Summary PDF Supplementary Material: Objectives
Korea is one of the fastest-aging societies, and a large proportion of its older population lives alone. This study examined the impact of family interaction frequency on the association between living alone and depressive symptoms among older adults aged ≥80 years using nationally representative survey data.
Methods
Among the 229 099 participants of the 2019 Korea Community Health Survey, 15 672 participants aged ≥80 years who either lived with close family or lived alone were included in the analysis. Participants living alone were classified according to the frequency of family interaction, ranging from less than once a month to more than once a week. The outcome variable was moderate to severe depressive symptoms, defined as a Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score of ≥10.
Results
The prevalence of depressive symptoms was higher among older adults living alone (9.4–14.1%, depending on the frequency of family interaction) than among those living with close family (6.5%). Older adults living alone who interacted with family less than once a month were more likely to report depressive symptoms compared with those living with close family (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.36 to 2.15). Weekly family interaction mitigated the impact of living alone on the prevalence of depressive symptoms (aOR 1.10; 95% CI, 0.84 to 1.42). The influence of family interaction on the association between living alone and depressive symptoms remained consistent across subgroups of men, women, and those with difficulty in daily activities.
Conclusions
Encouraging regular interaction among family members could serve as an effective strategy to protect the mental health of older adults.; Summary

Korean summary
본 연구는 2019년 지역사회건강조사에 참여한 만 80세 이상의 노인 15,672 명의 자료를 활용하여, 가족과의 정기적인 소통이 독거로 인한 우울증상 유병률의 증가에 미치는 요인을 확인하고자 하였다. 가까운 가족인 배우자 또는 자식과 동거하는 노인들과 비교해 보았을 때, 주 1회 이상의 소통을 하는 독거 노인들의 우울증상 교차비는 유의하게 높지 않았다. 가족과의 정기적인 소통의 보호효과는 성별 또는 일상생활에 어려움에 따른 층화 분석을 한 경우에도 일관된 효과를 보였다.

Key Message
This study explored whether sufficiently frequent family interactions mitigate the increased odds of reporting depressive symptoms due to living alone among older adults aged ≥80. Family interaction of once a week or more frequent mitigated the impact of living alone among the older adults. The protective effect of family interaction remained consistent across gender and difficulty in daily activities.

Increased Prevalence of Chronic Disease in Back Pain Patients Living in Car-dependent Neighbourhoods in Canada: A Cross-sectional Analysis: Amy Zeglinski-Spinney, Denise C. Wai, Philippe Phan, Eve C. Tsai, Alexandra Stratton, Stephen P. Kingwell, Darren M. Roffey, Eugene K. Wai; J Prev Med Public Health. 2018;51(5):227-233. Published online August 10, 2018; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.18.038

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Objectives
Chronic diseases, including back pain, result in significant patient morbidity and societal burden. Overall improvement in physical fitness is recommended for prevention and treatment. Walking is a convenient modality for achieving initial gains. Our objective was to determine whether neighbourhood walkability, acting as a surrogate measure of physical fitness, was associated with the presence of chronic disease.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional study of prospectively collected data from a prior randomized cohort study of 227 patients referred for tertiary assessment of chronic back pain in Ottawa, ON, Canada. The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) was calculated from patient-completed questionnaires and medical record review. Using patients’ postal codes, neighbourhood walkability was determined using the Walk Score, which awards points based on the distance to the closest amenities, yielding a score from 0 to 100 (0- 50: car-dependent; 50-100: walkable).
Results
Based on the Walk Score, 134 patients lived in car-dependent neighborhoods and 93 lived in walkable neighborhoods. A multivariate logistic regression model, adjusted for age, gender, rural postal code, body mass index, smoking, median household income, percent employment, pain, and disability, demonstrated an adjusted odds ratio of 2.75 (95% confidence interval, 1.16 to 6.53) times higher prevalence for having a chronic disease for patients living in a car-dependent neighborhood. There was also a significant dose-related association (p=0.01; Mantel-Haenszel chi-square=6.4) between living in car-dependent neighbourhoods and more severe CCI scores.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that advocating for improved neighbourhood planning to permit greater walkability may help offset the burden of chronic disease.

Summary

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Contributions and Limitations Walk Score® in the Context of Walkability: A Scoping Review
Jennifer Ann Brown, Kimberley D. Curtin, Mathew Thomson, Janice Y. Kung, Candace I. J. Nykiforuk
Environment and Behavior.2023; 55(6-7): 468. CrossRef
Do Walking-Friendly Built Environments Influence Frailty and Long-Term Care Insurance Service Needs?
Seigo Mitsutake, Tatsuro Ishizaki, Yuri Yokoyama, Mariko Nishi, Mohammad Javad Koohsari, Koichiro Oka, Shohei Yano, Takumi Abe, Akihiko Kitamura
Sustainability.2021; 13(10): 5632. CrossRef

The Association Among Individual and Contextual Factors and Unmet Healthcare Needs in South Korea: A Multilevel Study Using National Data: Seung Eun Lee, Miyeon Yeon, Chul-Woung Kim, Tae-Ho Yoon; J Prev Med Public Health. 2016;49(5):308-322. Published online September 7, 2016; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.16.035

12,314 View
232 Download
19 Crossref

Abstract PDF

Objectives
The objective of this study is to investigate associations between contextual characteristics and unmet healthcare needs in South Korea after accounting for individual factors.
Methods
The present study used data from the 2012 Korean Community Health Survey (KCHS) of 228 902 adults residing within 253 municipal districts in South Korea. A multilevel analysis was conducted to investigate how contextual characteristics, defined by variables that describe the regional deprivation, degree of urbanity, and healthcare supply, are associated with unmet needs after controlling for individual-level variables.
Results
Of the surveyed Korean adults, 12.1% reported experiencing unmet healthcare needs in the past. This figure varied with the 253 districts surveyed, ranging from 2.6% to 26.2%. A multilevel analysis found that the association between contextual characteristics and unmet needs varied according to the factors that caused the unmet needs. The degree of urbanity was associated with unmet need due to “financial burden” (odds ratio [OR], 0.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.42 to 0.66 for rural vs. metropolitan), but not unmet need due to “service not available when needed.” There were no significant associations between these unmet need measures and regional deprivation. Among individual-level variables, income level showed the highest association with unmet need due to “financial burden” (OR, 5.63; 95% CI, 4.76 to 6.66), while employment status showed a strong association with unmet need due to “service not available when needed.”
Conclusions
Our finding suggests that different policy interventions should be considered for each at-risk population group to address the root cause of unmet healthcare needs.

Summary

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PLOS One.2026; 21(1): e0342106. CrossRef
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Dental Care Utilization for Examination and Regional Deprivation: Cheol-Sin Kim, Sun-Young Han, Seung Eun Lee, Jeong-Hee Kang, Chul-Woung Kim; J Prev Med Public Health. 2015;48(4):195-202. Published online July 23, 2015; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.15.026

27,033 View
115 Download
11 Crossref

Abstract PDF

Objectives
Receiving proper dental care plays a significant role in maintaining good oral health. We investigated the relationship between regional deprivation and dental care utilization.
Methods
Multilevel logistic regression was used to identify the relationship between the regional deprivation level and dental care utilization purpose, adjusting for individual-level variables, in adults aged 19+ in the 2008 Korean Community Health Survey (n=220 258).
Results
Among Korean adults, 12.8% used dental care to undergo examination and 21.0% visited a dentist for other reasons. In the final model, regional deprivation level was associated with significant variations in dental care utilization for examination (p<0.001). However, this relationship was not shown with dental care utilization for other reasons in the final model.
Conclusions
This study’s findings suggest that policy interventions should be considered to reduce regional variations in rates of dental care utilization for examination.

Summary

Citations

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The uneven playing field: provider participation and regional disparities in oral health examination rates in Korea
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Satar Rezaei, Esmail Ghahramani, Mohammad Hajizadeh, Bijan Nouri, Sheno Bayazidi, Fatemah Khezrnezhad
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