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. 2024 Oct 1:362:630-637.
doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.07.112. Epub 2024 Jul 17.

Association between living alone and generalized anxiety disorder in Korean adults

Su Min Park  1 , Dan Bi Kim  1 , Min Jeong Joo  1 , Eun-Cheol Park  2
Affiliations
Free article

Association between living alone and generalized anxiety disorder in Korean adults

Su Min Park et al. J Affect Disord. .
Free article

Abstract

Background: Globally, the rise in single-person households poses a potential risk to mental health, with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) being a prominent concern. The proliferation of single-person households may exacerbate social isolation and foster loneliness and anxiety. Notably, research investigating the association between single-person households and GAD remains limited. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between single-person households and GAD across sexes in Korea.

Methods: We utilized data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in 2021 and 2022, comprising a sample of 9936 participants aged 19 or older. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screening Tool (GAD-7) was employed to assess anxiety levels in adults. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the correlation between single-person households and GAD.

Results: The reference variable used in the analysis was multi-person households (consisting of two or more individuals). The association between single-person households and GAD was statistically significant across sexes (male: odds ratio [OR]: 1.92, 95 % CI: 1.15-3.20; female: OR: 1.56, 95 % CI: 1.03-2.36). Participants in single-person households exhibited higher scores on the GAD-7 compared with those in multi-person households. Notably, marital status and education level displayed disparate effects based on sex, whereas physical activity demonstrated consistent effects irrespective of sex.

Limitations: Given the use of cross-sectional data, only correlations could be established.

Conclusion: The findings indicate an elevated risk of GAD in single-person households compared with multi-person households. Furthermore, promoting physical activity emerged as a potential strategy for mitigating GAD in single-person households.

Keywords: Education level; Generalized anxiety disorder; Physical activity; Single-person household.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest This manuscript has not been published or presented elsewhere in part or in entirety and is not under consideration by another journal. All study participants provided informed consent. We have read and understood your journal’s policies, and we believe that neither the manuscript nor the study violates any of these.