• Sang-A Kim, Eunyoung Kim, Robert G Morris, and Woong-Sub Park.
• Department of Silver Welfare, Dong Seoul College, Seongnam, Korea.
• Yonsei Med. J. 2015 Mar 1; 56 (2): 418425418-25.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine a J-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption and depression among the elderly in South Korea.Materials And MethodsCross-section data were drawn from a community-based sample of individuals 60 years of age and older (n=1819). Respondents completed the Alcohol Use Disorders Intensification Test (AUDIT) and the Korean Beck Depression Inventory. Using a regression approach, the effect of alcohol consumption as a non-linear effect was assessed in relation to gender, marital status, exercise, smoking, age, education, and physical and mental health.ResultsAUDIT total score were found to exert linear and quadratic effects that were significantly associated with higher depression scores among sample respondents. The results lend support to a J-shaped relationship between alcohol use and depression, wherein abstainers and problem drinkers were at a higher risk of depression.ConclusionThis study confirms a J-shaped (i.e., curvilinear) relationship between alcohol consumption and depression among elderly South Koreans, similar to that frequently found in studies of Western-based samples. The findings of this study, therefore, imply the applicability of the J-shaped relationship hypothesis for non-Western society samples and within different cultural contexts.

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