Association between depression and asthma in Korean adults

PURPOSE: Asthma is a one of the most common allergic diseases, and depression is an important comorbidity with asthma. However, little is known about the prevalence of depression in Korean adults with asthma. This study was performed to find the association between asthma and depression in Korean adults and to investigate the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics in Korean adults with asthma and with depression. METHODS: Data were acquired from 47,351 men and women, ages >19 years, who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which was conducted from 2007 to 2014. The presence of asthma and depression was based on self-reported physician diagnosis in the Health Interview Surveys. RESULTS: The prevalence of asthma was 2.8% and of depression was 4.1%. Logistic regression analysis showed that single marital status (separated or divorced) (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.291 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.077-1.547]), unemployment (aOR 1.226 [95% CI, 1.061-1.417]), under middle school graduated education level (aOR 2.433 [95% CI, 1.867-3.171]), middle school graduated education level (aOR 1.759 [95% CI, 1.330-2.327]), obesity (aOR 1.403 [95% CI, 1.196-1.647]), and depression (aOR 1.796 [95% CI, 1.422-2.267]) were significantly associated with adult asthma; however, sex, age, monthly family income, residential area, smoking status, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus were not associated with adult asthma. Compared with individuals without asthma and with depression, patients with asthma and with depression were prone to be single (separated or divorced) and to have a lower education level (p < 0.01) Conclusion: The present study showed that depression was associated with asthma in Korean adults.