PHWR Public Health Weekly Report

Vol.17 No.10, March 14, 2024 Article TypeOriginal ArticlesQuickStatsSurveillance Reports

• Original Articles 2024-03-14

  1 790 192

  Association between Social Isolation and Depression among Korean Living Alone

  Minji Hwang, Myung Ki

  Public Health Weekly Report 2024; 17(10): 383-403 https://doi.org/10.56786/PHWR.2024.17.10.1

  

  

  Abstract

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  Single-person households have been continuously increasing in recent times and are reporting more negative mental health outcomes. However, rather than whether single-person households are related to mental health, it is necessary to examine what characteristics of these households are associated with mental health. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the association between social isolation and depression in single-person households and explore the differences across different age groups. We employed the 2017 Community Health Survey and study population were included adults aged 19 and above living alone. Chi-square tests were conducted to compare the differences between groups with and without depression according to age groups and multiple logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between depression and social isolation. Socioeconomic factors, and health-related factors were controlled as confounding factors. The study found that social isolation had an association with depression in young, middle-aged, and elderly individuals, with the middle-aged group showing the strongest association. Especially, among the three variables constructing social isolation, economic activity showed the most significant association with depression for middle-aged and elderly individuals. Based on these research findings, we suggest that support for social isolation for single-person households is necessary, particularly for the middle-aged and elderly population.

• Surveillance Reports 2024-03-14

  2 427 203

  Surveillance of Hepatitis A Virus and Its Outbreak Status in the Republic of Korea, 2019 to 2022

  Young Won Kim, Seung-Hoon Chae, Jin Seon Yang

  Public Health Weekly Report 2024; 17(10): 404-417 https://doi.org/10.56786/PHWR.2024.17.10.2

  

  

  Abstract

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  Hepatitis A was designated as a statutory notifiable infectious disease in 2000 and has been monitored through sentinel surveillance since 2001. Following the comprehensive revision of the Infectious Diseases Prevention and Management Act in December 2009, the surveillance system was converted to a passive surveillance system in 2011. This report describes domestic hepatitis A outbreaks reported to the Integrated Disease and Health Management System from 2019 to 2022, following a large outbreak of hepatitis A in 2019. During this period, the incidence rate of hepatitis A was highest in the 40–49-year age group, followed by the 30–39-year and 20–29-year age groups. The majority of outbreaks were reported in 2019 and 2021, and the most common source locations were restaurants (28 outbreaks in 2019, 6 outbreaks in 2021) and side-dish stores (1 outbreaks in 2019, 6 outbreaks in 2021). This indicates the importance of practicing good personal hygiene and food hygiene as preventive measures against hepatitis A infection. In addition, the analysis identified salted clams imported from China as a major source of hepatitis A infection. Therefore, food safety and management systems need to be strengthened and the public should be provided with health information about hepatitis A.

• QuickStats 2024-03-14

  0 143 130

  Trends in Prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease, 2012–2022

  Public Health Weekly Report 2024; 17(10): 418-419 https://doi.org/10.56786/PHWR.2024.17.10.3

  

  

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