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OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have shown that people with multimorbidity have a higher risk of depression than those without multimorbidity. However, few studies have examined the association between depression and multimorbidity in men and women separately. Since the rates of depression and multimorbidity are different in men and women, it is necessary to examine whether gender differences affect their association.METHODS: This study included 30,138 participants (aged ≥ 65 years) from the National Survey of Older Koreans (2011-2017). Depression was defined using the Korean version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (SGDS-K). Multimorbidity was defined as people who had 2 or more chronic diseases, including arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, pulmonary disease, cancer, stroke, or osteoporosis. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the association between depression and multimorbidity.RESULTS: In total, 22.2% and 30.7% of men and women, respectively, had depression. Those with multimorbidity had a higher risk of depression than those without chronic conditions; specifically, the difference in risk among men was greater than that among women. Age was considered a moderator for women. While the effects of pulmonary disease, stroke, and cancer were especially substantial in the integrated analysis, gender differences were observed related to various chronic conditions comorbid with heart disease.CONCLUSIONS: There are gender differences in the association between multimorbidity and depression among older Korean adults. Therefore, gender-specific care should be provided to reduce depression in older adults with multimorbidity.

Background: As the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, and social distancing increased, the physical activity (PA) of people decreased, which increased depression. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between self-reported changes in PA with the COVID-19 pandemic and major depression according to moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) status. Methods: This study included 228,457 adults and used data from the Korea Community Health Survey 2020. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between self-reported changes in PA and major depression stratified by MVPA status. Results: The percentage of participants who reported decreases in PA was 39.5% in men and 44.7% in women compared with the pre-COVID-19 pandemic period. Those who reported decreases in PA after the onset of COVID-19 had major depression (men odds ratio = 1.28; 95% confidence interval, 1.15–1.43 and women odds ratio = 1.35; 95% confidence interval, 1.25–1.46). Women who were moderately or vigorously physically active had higher odds of major depression when they reported decreases in PA (odds ratio = 1.31; 95% confidence interval, 1.06–1.62). Conclusions: People who reported decreases in PA were associated with major depression compared with the pre-COVID-19 pandemic period. Based on this, the government should encourage exercise to reduce major depression and provide guidelines for PA at home or outdoors.

Objectives: The study aimed to investigate sex differences associated with sleep duration and the prevalence of thyroid disease among South Korean adults.Methods: This cross-sectional study included 17,555 adults who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2016 to 2018. Sleep duration was categorized into three groups (insufficient, <7 hour; normal, 7-8 hour; prolonged, ≥9 hour). A chi-squared test was performed to assess baseline characteristics. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify the association between general characteristic and the prevalence of thyroid disease. In subgroup analysis, multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to find the association between sleep duration and prevalence of thyroid disease by sex.Results: For men, insufficient and prolonged sleep durations were increased risk of thyroid disease compared with normal sleep duration (insufficient sleep: odds ratio, OR=1.85, 95% confidence interval, CI=1.19-2.87; prolonged sleep: OR=1.71, 95% CI=1.02-2.87).Conclusions: This study found that men with insufficient and prolonged sleep were associated with thyroid disease. Further studies are needed to identify the relationship between sleep duration, thyroid disease, and sleep quality by sex.