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Abstract Despite the significant impact of the COVID–19 pandemic on various factors related to adolescent mental health problems such as stress, sadness, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts, research on this topic has been insufficient to date. This study is based on the Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web–based Survey from 2006 to 2022. We analyzed the mental health problems of adolescents based on questionnaires with medical interviews, within five income groups and compared them with several risk factors. A total of 1,138,804 participants were included in this study, with a mean age (SD) of 15.01 (0.75) years. Of these, 587,256 were male (51.57%). In 2022, the recent period from the study, the weighted prevalence of stress in highest income group was 40.07% (95% CI, 38.67–41.48), sadness was 28.15% (26.82–29.48), suicidal ideation was 13.92% (12.87–14.97), and suicide attempts was 3.42% (2.90–3.93) while the weighted prevalence of stress in lowest income group was 62.77% (59.42–66.13), sadness was 46.83% (43.32–50.34), suicidal ideation was 31.70% (28.44–34.96), and suicide attempts was 10.45% (8.46–12.45). Lower income groups showed a higher proportion with several risk factors. Overall proportion had decreased until the onset of the pandemic. However, a significant increase has been found during the COVID–19 pandemic. Our study showed an association between household income level and the prevalence of mental illness in adolescents. Furthermore, the COVID–19 pandemic has exacerbated mental illness among adolescents from low household income level, underscoring the necessity for heightened public attention and measures targeted at this demographic.

Abstract Background With the rapidly aging population in China, there is an urgent need to understand and address the community care needs of older adults. This study sought to examine these unmet community care needs of older adults in China and the factors influencing them, with the goal of providing essential groundwork for the development of community care health policies. Methods This study used data from the 2018 China Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey of 8,870 adults aged 65 years and older. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors related to unmet community care needs. Results The results showed that lower number of children, increased years of schooling, poorer self-perceived economic and health status, residing in an institution rather than living with household members, not having public old-age pensions, and not having activity due to daily living impairments were associated with a higher likelihood of unmet community care needs among older adults. Conclusions These findings indicate the necessity for crafting policies that consider the factors affecting unmet community care needs of older adults, including their health vulnerabilities and individual needs. Implementing national initiatives aimed at enhancing the quality of services delivered to older adults is crucial, along with establishing programmes to proactively address their vulnerabilities and individual needs. This study can contribute to the formulation of policy measures aimed at enhancing community care services of older adults in China.

BackgroundOsteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are prevalent chronic joint disorders, with prevalence rates varying by sex. However, few studies have comprehensively documented the factors contributing to the sex-specific prevalence of osteoarthritis and RA, including sociological factors and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. ObjectiveThis study aims to identify long-term trends in the sex-specific prevalence of osteoarthritis and RA from 2005 to 2021 while examining the factors that serve as vulnerabilities specific to each sex within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsData were collected from a nationally representative sample of 110,225 individuals through the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2005 to 2021. The study included patients aged 19 years and older diagnosed with osteoarthritis or RA in South Korea. Data were analyzed using weighted trends to accurately represent the sample population, with a 95% CI. Weighted logistic and regression models were used to identify vulnerable groups at risk of osteoarthritis or RA during the pandemic to assess sex-specific trends. ResultsIn total, 110,225 individuals (n=48,410, 43.92% male participants) were analyzed from 2005 to 2021, with prevalence rates remaining stable over time and higher in female than in male participants. Notably, during the pandemic, female participants aged 60 years and older exhibited a prevalence of osteoarthritis that was 4.92 times greater than male participants and a prevalence of RA that was 6.44 times greater (osteoarthritis: prevalence ratio [PR] 69.78, 95% CI 41.66-116.88; RA: PR 17.27, 95% CI 8.75-34.07). In terms of osteoarthritis, male participants did not show a significant association with BMI (PR 1.40, 95% CI 1.21-1.61; P=.47), whereas female participants exhibited a significantly higher vulnerability within the obese group (PR 1.68, 95% CI 1.55-1.83; P

Objective: Although thyroid disease is a common condition, there is limited research examining the prevalence of thyroid disease over a long period of time, including both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, we aimed to investigate sociodemographic aspects that might be associated with thyroid disease and how its prevalence has varied during the pandemic. Methods: We assessed the prevalence of thyroid disease among Korean adults by using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1998 to 2021. We evaluated weighted prevalence and β-coefficients with 95 % CI for factors such as age, sex, residential area, education level, household income, perceived stress level, weight change, occupation category, and body mass index groups. Results: From 1998 to 2021, the prevalence of thyroid disease among 159,896 Korean adults (88,120 females [55.1 %]) aged 20 years and older exhibited an overall increasing trend. The weighted prevalence in the general population rose from 1.52 % (95 % CI, 1.41–1.64) in 1998–2005 to 3.84 % (3.30–4.39) in 2021, with a higher likelihood of thyroid disease exposure as age increased. In addition, females, individuals with lower education levels, those with high levels of perceived stress, those who gained weight, and those classified as overweight or obese emerged as vulnerable groups for thyroid disease. For the majority of subgroups, the change amid the effect of the pandemic on prevalence was minimal. However, the aged ≥60 years group showed a greater increase in prevalence during the pandemic than before the pandemic (βdiff: 0.52 [95 % CI, 0.37–0.68]). Conclusions: A nationwide representative study in South Korea revealed an increasing trend in the prevalence of thyroid disease over 24 years, particularly among the older population. Despite the minimal variation during the pandemic, our findings emphasize the need for targeted thyroid disease policies and further research, especially for specific subgroups such as the older population.

BackgroundDespite several studies on self-evaluation of health and body shape, existing research on the risk factors of self-perceived overweight is insufficient, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. ObjectiveThis study aims to identify the risk factors affecting self-perceived overweight and examine how the prevalence of self-perceived overweight has changed before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, we analyzed the impact of altered lifestyles due to COVID-19 on this phenomenon. MethodsThe data used in the study were obtained from middle and high school students who participated in the Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (N=1,189,586). This survey was a 2-stage stratified cluster sampling survey representative of South Korean adolescents. We grouped the survey results by year and estimated the slope in the prevalence of self-perceived overweight before and during the pandemic using weighted linear regression, as well as the prevalence tendencies of self-perceived overweight according to various risk factors. We used prevalence ratios to identify the risk factors for self-perceived overweight. In addition, we conducted comparisons of risk factors in different periods to identify their associations with the COVID-19 pandemic. ResultsThe prevalence of self-perceived overweight was much higher than BMI-based overweight among 1,189,586 middle and high school participants (grade 7-12) from 2005 to 2022 (female participants: n=577,102, 48.51%). From 2005 to 2019 (prepandemic), the prevalence of self-perceived overweight increased (β=2.80, 95% CI 2.70-2.90), but from 2020 to 2022 (pandemic) it decreased (β=–0.53, 95% CI –0.74 to –0.33). During the pandemic, individuals with higher levels of stress or lower household economic status exhibited a more substantial decrease in the rate of self-perceived overweight. The prevalence of self-perceived overweight tended to be higher among individuals with poor academic performance, lower economic status, poorer subjective health, and a higher stress level. ConclusionsOur nationwide study, conducted over 18 years, indicated that self-perceived overweight decreased during the COVID-19 period while identifying low academic performance and economic status as risk factors. These findings suggest the need for policies and facilities to address serious dieting and body dissatisfaction resulting from self-perceived overweight by developing counseling programs for adolescents with risk factors such as lower school performance and economic status.

Abstract Previous studies have examined the prevalence of allergic diseases in adolescents 1–2 years after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, more data is needed to understand the long-term impact of COVID-19 on allergic diseases. Thus, we aimed to examine the trend of the atopic dermatitis prevalence in Korean adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic across 14 years. Additionally, we analyze the risk factors of atopic dermatitis (AD) based on the results. The Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency conducted the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey from 2009 to 2022, from which the data for this study were obtained. Prevalence trends were compared across subgroups, and the β difference (βdiff) was calculated. We computed odds ratios to examine changes in the disease prevalence before and during the pandemic. This study included a total of 917,461 participants from 2009 to 2022. The prevalence of atopic dermatitis increased from 6.79% (95% CI 6.66–6.91) in 2009–2011 to 6.89% (95% CI 6.72–7.05) in 2018–2019, then decreased slightly to 5.82% (95% CI 5.60–6.04) in 2022. Across the 14 years, middle school student status, low parent’s highest education level, low household income, non-alcohol consumption, non-smoker smoking status, no suicidal thoughts, and no suicide attempts were associated with increased risk of atopic dermatitis, while female sex, rural residence, high BMI, low school performance, low household income, and no feelings of sadness and despair was associated with a small increase. This study examined the prevalence of atopic dermatitis across an 18-year, and found that the prevalence increased in the pre-pandemic then decreased during the start of the pandemic and remained constant throughout the pandemic. This trend could be explained mainly by the large scale social and political changes that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract Prior research has predominantly focused on the overall effects of the tobacco tax increase and the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent smoking behavior. However, there is a need to examine both the immediate and sustained associations of these two factors on subgroups of adolescents, employing an interrupted time-series model. We aimed to investigate the immediate and sustained association of tobacco tax increase and the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent smoking prevalence. This study utilized data from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey to analyze the prevalence of current smoking among all participants (CSP) and the prevalence of daily smoking among current smokers (DSP) of Korean adolescents (n = 1,159,995; mean, age 14.99; male 51.5%) over 18 years from 2005 to 2022. The study examined 18-year trends in CSP and DSP among Korean adolescents, emphasizing the influences of the 2015 tobacco tax increase and the COVID-19 pandemic, using β coefficients and their differences (βdiff) from an interrupted time-series ARIMA model. While CSP exhibited a decreasing trend, DSP exhibited an increasing trend. Tobacco tax increase was associated with both the short and long terms in smoking prevalence, however, the short-term association on prevalence (CSP, − 3.076 [95% CI, − 3.707 to − 2.445]; DSP, − 4.112 [95% CI, − 6.488 to − 1.735]) was stronger. The pandemic was associated with an immediate increase in DSP (9.345 [95% CI, 5.285–13.406]). These effects were strongest among adolescents from low economic status and those exposed to familial secondhand smoking. Supportive programs for adolescents in low-income families will help overcome the effects associated with the pandemic. As a tobacco tax increase was associated with a reduction in smoking prevalence, this could be one method to overcome the effects of the pandemic.

BackgroundType 2 diabetes poses an increasing disease burden in South Korea. The development and management of type 2 diabetes are closely related to lifestyle and socioeconomic factors, which have undergone substantial changes over the past few decades, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate long-term trends in type 2 diabetes prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control. It also aimed to determine whether there were substantial alterations in the trends during the pandemic and whether these changes were more pronounced within specific demographic groups. MethodsThis study examined the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of type 2 diabetes in a representative sample of 139,786 South Koreans aged >30 years, using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and covering the period from 1998 to 2022. Weighted linear regression and binary logistic regression were performed to calculate weighted β coefficients or odds ratios. Stratified analyses were performed based on sex, age, region of residence, obesity status, educational background, household income, and smoking status. β (difference) was calculated to analyze the trend difference between the prepandemic period and the COVID-19 pandemic. To identify groups more susceptible to type 2 diabetes, we estimated interaction terms for each factor and calculated weighted odds ratios. ResultsFrom 1998 to 2022, a consistent increase in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes was observed among South Koreans, with a notable rise to 15.61% (95% CI 14.83-16.38) during the pandemic. Awareness followed a U-shaped curve, bottoming out at 64.37% (95% CI 61.79-66.96) from 2013 to 2015 before increasing to 72.56% (95% CI 70.39-74.72) during the pandemic. Treatment also increased over time, peaking at 68.33% (95% CI 65.95-70.71) during the pandemic. Control among participants with diabetes showed no substantial change, maintaining a rate of 29.14% (95% CI 26.82-31.47) from 2020 to 2022, while control among treated participants improved to 30.68% (95% CI 27.88-33.48). During the pandemic, there was a steepening of the curves for awareness and treatment. However, while the slope of control among participants being treated increased, the slope of control among participants with diabetes showed no substantial change during the pandemic. Older populations and individuals with lower educational level exhibited less improvement in awareness and control trends than younger populations and more educated individuals. People with lower income experienced a deceleration in prevalence during the pandemic. ConclusionsOver the recent decade, there has been an increase in type 2 diabetes prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control. During the pandemic, a steeper increase in awareness, treatment, and control among participants being treated was observed. However, there were heterogeneous changes across different population groups, underscoring the need for targeted interventions to address disparities and improve diabetes management for susceptible populations.

BackgroundUnderstanding the association between hypertension prevalence and socioeconomic and behavioral variables during a pandemic is essential, and this analysis should extend beyond short-term trends. ObjectiveThis study aims to examine long-term trends in the prevalence of participants diagnosed with and receiving treatment for hypertension, using data collected by a nationally representative survey from 2009 to 2022, which includes the COVID-19 pandemic era. MethodsA nationwide, population-based, cross-sectional study used data collected from the South Korea Community Health Survey between 2009 and 2022. The study sample comprised 3,208,710 Korean adults over a period of 14 years. We aimed to assess trends in the prevalence of participants diagnosed with and receiving treatment for hypertension in the national population from 2009 to 2022, with a specific focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, using weighted linear regression models. ResultsAmong the included 3,072,546 Korean adults, 794,239 (25.85%) were aged 19-39 years, 1,179,388 (38.38%) were aged 40-59 years; 948,097 (30.86%) were aged 60-79 years, and 150,822 (4.91%) were aged 80 years or older. A total of 1,426,379 (46.42%) were men; 761,896 (24.80%) and 712,264 (23.18%) were diagnosed with and received treatment for hypertension, respectively. Although the overall prevalence over the 14-year period increased, the upward trends of patients diagnosed with and receiving treatment for hypertension decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic era compared with the prepandemic era (β difference for trend during vs before the pandemic –.101, 95% CI –0.107 to –0.094 vs –.133, 95% CI –0.140 to –0.127). Notably, the trends in prevalence during the pandemic were less pronounced in subgroups of older adults (≥60 years old) and individuals with higher alcohol consumption (≥5 days/month). ConclusionsThis nationwide representative study found that the national prevalence of participants diagnosed with and receiving treatment for hypertension increased during the prepandemic era. However, there was a marked decrease in these trends during the prepandemic era, compared with the pandemic era, particularly among specific subgroups at increased risk of negative outcomes. Future studies are needed to evaluate the factors associated with changes in the prevalence of hypertension during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BackgroundSuicide is the second-leading cause of death among adolescents and is associated with clusters of suicides. Despite numerous studies on this preventable cause of death, the focus has primarily been on single nations and traditional statistical methods. ObjectiveThis study aims to develop a predictive model for adolescent suicidal thinking using multinational data sets and machine learning (ML). MethodsWe used data from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey with 566,875 adolescents aged between 13 and 18 years and conducted external validation using the Youth Risk Behavior Survey with 103,874 adolescents and Norway’s University National General Survey with 19,574 adolescents. Several tree-based ML models were developed, and feature importance and Shapley additive explanations values were analyzed to identify risk factors for adolescent suicidal thinking. ResultsWhen trained on the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey data from South Korea with a 95% CI, the XGBoost model reported an area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve of 90.06% (95% CI 89.97-90.16), displaying superior performance compared to other models. For external validation using the Youth Risk Behavior Survey data from the United States and the University National General Survey from Norway, the XGBoost model achieved AUROCs of 83.09% and 81.27%, respectively. Across all data sets, XGBoost consistently outperformed the other models with the highest AUROC score, and was selected as the optimal model. In terms of predictors of suicidal thinking, feelings of sadness and despair were the most influential, accounting for 57.4% of the impact, followed by stress status at 19.8%. This was followed by age (5.7%), household income (4%), academic achievement (3.4%), sex (2.1%), and others, which contributed less than 2% each. ConclusionsThis study used ML by integrating diverse data sets from 3 countries to address adolescent suicide. The findings highlight the important role of emotional health indicators in predicting suicidal thinking among adolescents. Specifically, sadness and despair were identified as the most significant predictors, followed by stressful conditions and age. These findings emphasize the critical need for early diagnosis and prevention of mental health issues during adolescence.

Background: Although obesity is known to be related to allergic diseases, few studies have investigated the prevalence of allergic diseases in individuals with obesity, especially during the COVID–19 pandemic. Thus, this study aimed to analyze national trends of allergic diseases among individuals with obesity and sociodemographic factors. Methods: This study used data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to examine the prevalence of allergic diseases among individuals with obesity in South Korea from 2005 to 2021. A nationally representative sample of 118,275 participants aged over 2 years or above was divided into six groups for analysis. This study used weighted multivariate regression analysis to examine the estimates of related factors. It assessed the weighted odds ratios or β–coefficients for these factors across different categories, including age, sex, region of residence, education level, household income, and body mass index for the entire population. Results: All allergic diseases showed a general upward trend from 2005 to 2021, but each disease showed different prevalence trends when compared by age. Before the pandemic, those aged ≤39 years had an increasing trend for asthma and AD, but those aged ≥40 years had a decreasing trend. For asthma, β–coefficients were 0.629 (95 % CI, 0.299 to 0.958) for 19–39 years, −0.245 (−0.450 to −0.040) for 40–59 years, and −0.668 (−1.024 to −0.313) for ≥60 years. For AD, β–coefficients were 2.514 (1.258–3.769) in those aged 2–18 years, 0.630 (0.173–1.086) in those aged 19–39 years, −0.458 (−0.648 to −0.268) in those aged 40–59 years, and −0.253 (−0.454 to −0.052) in those aged ≥60 years. However, for both asthma and AD, there were no significant changes in prevalence during the pandemic. In the case of AR, trends were different from those of asthma and AD. Before the pandemic, AR showed an increasing trend in those aged ≤39 years and those aged ≥40 years: β–coefficients were 3.067 (2.344–3.790) in 19–39 years, 2.051 (1.609–2.493) in 40–59 years, and 1.173 (0.820–1.526) in ≥60 years. During the pandemic, there was an increasing trend only among those aged 40–59, with no significant changes in other age groups: β–coefficients were 1.438 (0.065–2.811) in 40–59 years. Conclusions: From 2005 to 2021, all allergic diseases (asthma, AD, and AR) increased overall, but with different age-related trends. No significant link was found between COVID–19 and allergic diseases, possibly due to preventive measures like mask-wearing and social distancing. Anxiety about accessing healthcare during the pandemic likely contributed to a decline in allergy diagnoses, highlighting the need for comprehensive strategies to manage and prevent allergic diseases.

Abstract Background With a rapidly ageing population and a decline in the availability of family caregivers, the number of older adults with disabilities who have unmet long-term care needs is gradually increasing worldwide. However, whether there are gender differences in the association between primary caregivers or their attitudes and unmet needs for activities of daily living (ADL) assistance remains largely unknown. Methods This study used the latest 2018 wave of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), containing the data of 1187 older adults with disabilities aged 65 and older, to identify gender differences in the attitudes of primary caregivers toward the unmet needs for ADL assistance among with disabilities adults in China. Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the effects of primary caregivers and their caregiving attitudes on the unmet care experiences of older adults with ADLs. In addition, a gender-stratified analysis was conducted to compare the differences based on older adults’ gender. Results The results revealed that the lack of positive attitudes from primary caregivers might create a situation of unmet needs for ADL assistance among older adults. When family members carry the main burden of care, older adults with disabilities, especially older women, have a lower level of unmet needs for ADL assistance. Therefore, it is important to consider gender-specific interventions to improve ADL assistance among older adults. Conclusions The findings suggest that the presence of a family member as a caregiver has a significant effect on unmet needs for ADL assistance in women, highlighting the importance of developing an emotional bond with the caregiver. Given that the availability of informal caregivers, such as family members, is declining, it is crucial to provide financial assistance and formal services, such as paid home services and community-based care services, and reduce the burden on family caregivers to address the unmet needs for ADL assistance among older adults with disabilities in China.