@article{ref1,
title="Prevalence and predictors of depression in Korean American elderly: findings from the Memory and Aging Study of Koreans (MASK)",
journal="American journal of geriatric psychiatry",
year="2014",
author="Kim, Miyong T. and Kim, Kim B. and Han, Hae-Ra and Huh, Boyun and Nguyen, Tam and Lee, Hochang B.",
volume="23",
number="7",
pages="671-683",
abstract="OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence and identify the predictors of depression among community-dwelling Korean American elderly (KAE). <br><br>DESIGN: A cross-sectional descriptive epidemiological survey using a two-step sampling strategy to obtain a representative community sample. SETTING: The authors recruited study participants at religious, service, and business establishments in the KA community (26 churches, 6 senior centers, 2 medical daycare centers, 1 supermarket). PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling first-generation KAE (N = 1,118; mean age ± SD: 70.5 ± 7.0 years; female: 67.2%). MEASUREMENTS: Trained bilingual nurses and community health workers interviewed participants face-to-face for demographic information, chronic conditions, and depression using the Korean versions of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9K). <br><br>RESULTS: 30.3% of KAEs were classified as having either mild (PHQ-9K score 5-9; N = 218, 19.5%) or clinical depression (PHQ-9K score ≥10; N = 120, 10.8%), respectively. One of seven KAE (N = 164, 14.7%) endorsed thoughts of death or self-injury, but only 63 (5.7%) reported utilizing mental health services. The authors also identified several predictors of depression, including living arrangement (living alone versus living with family/spouse); having chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, digestive disorders, or chronic bronchitis; years of education; and cognitive impairment. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: The authors' findings reveal a high prevalence of depression among KAE and a low level of mental health service utilization. Because there are urgent needs for culturally and contextually relevant interventions, the authors also discuss the feasibility of community-based interventions to reduce the burden of depression, which should be incorporated into a management system for multiple chronic conditions.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1064-7481",
doi="10.1016/j.jagp.2014.11.003",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2014.11.003"
}