Relationship between depression, anxiety, stress, and health-related quality of life in adults with and without chronic diseases: A cross-sectional study.

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with chronic diseases is an important tool to measure patient-reported health outcomes and evaluate the usefulness of treatment, management, and rehabilitation programs. Patients with chronic diseases are more likely than those without to experience psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, and stress, all of which can affect HRQoL. This study evaluated the impact of psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, and stress on HRQoL in people with and without chronic diseases in South Korea. The study's descriptive survey included 501 participants (191 with and 310 without chronic diseases). Data were collected using structured questionnaires between April and May 2021. The general characteristics, DASS-21, and HRQOL of this study were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Differences in DASS-21 and HRQoL based on general characteristics were analyzed using t tests and ANOVA. The study analyzed the factors influencing the participants' HRQoL using stepwise multiple regression analysis with SPSS Win 27.0. HRQoL was generally lower for patients with chronic diseases than for patients without. In patients with chronic diseases, the major variables affecting HRQoL were depression (ß = -0.244, t = -3.582, P < .001), exercise (ß = 0.201, t = 2.927, P = .004), and economic status (ß = -0.150, t = -2.184, P = .030), of which depression was the most influential. These variables explained 12.5% of the variance in the regression model for total HRQoL. These results emphasize the need to explore intervention measures that can reduce depression in patients with chronic diseases and anxiety in patients without chronic diseases to improve their HRQoL. In addition, national efforts are needed to provide economic support, as economic status is an influential factor in HRQoL regardless of the presence of chronic disease. The study's limitations include the fact that neither did it consider disease severity among chronically ill patients nor did it examine all the variables affecting HRQoL.

The mediating role of neighborhood social cohesion and trust in the relationship between childhood material hardship and adolescent depression.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to examine the association between childhood material hardship and adolescent depression and how the relationship is mediated by neighborhood social cohesion and trust. Previous studies on childhood material hardship and adolescent depression have consistently pointed to the importance of social and environmental contexts in explaining health inequalities among children in socially disadvantaged families. However, little is known about the extent to which neighborhood social context contributes to increasing or decreasing the strength of the association between childhood material hardship and adolescent depression. METHOD: Using data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) waves 3 and 6, this study conducted Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis to examine whether levels of neighborhood social cohesion and trust mediates the association between childhood material hardship and adolescent depression. The study sample consisted of 2,096 children at age 3 and 15. RESULTS: Findings from the SEM analysis suggest that childhood material hardship is linked with higher levels of adolescent depression and this pathway is partially mediated by neighborhood social cohesion and trust. DISCUSSION: Results suggest that neighborhood conditions played a role in mediating the association between childhood material hardship and adolescent depression. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation to policy and practice.

Factors affecting physical and mental fatigue in adults from South Korea: A cross-sectional study.

In modern society, demanding and stressful events contribute to increased fatigue in adults. Moreover, fatigue is the most prevalent symptom of long coronavirus disease 2019. Fatigue is a subjective feeling of tiredness that can be attributed to various causes. This cross-sectional study investigated factors affecting physical and mental fatigue in adults living in South Korea. Self-reported data were collected through an online survey conducted between July 11 and July 17, 2021. The final sample comprised 362 participants, excluding those with uncertain responses. The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 27.0. General characteristics and variables of the participants were examined through descriptive statistical analysis. Differences in fatigue level according to the general characteristics of the participants were analyzed using t tests and one-way analysis of variance. The correlation between variables was analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients. To investigate factors affecting fatigue, stepwise multiple regression analysis was conducted. The overall level of fatigue according to participants' general characteristics differed significantly based on alcohol use, economic status, number of chronic diseases, stress, depression, and sleep problems. Factors affecting physical fatigue were depression, sleep problems, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) scores, and number of chronic diseases. The factors affecting mental fatigue were depression, GHQ-12 score, and alcohol use. The variables that had the most significant impact on overall fatigue were alcohol consumption, the number of chronic illnesses, depression, and GHQ-12, in that order. This emphasizes the importance of lifestyle improvement and dietary management in adults for preventing chronic diseases and managing mental health. The results of this study should be considered when planning health services to provide fatigue interventions for Korean adults.