National trends in counseling for stress and depression and COVID-19 pandemic-related factors among adults, 2009–2022: A nationwide study in South Korea: Stress, depression, and pandemic.

• Our cross-sectional study analyzed the trends in the prevalence of counseling for stress and depression among over two million South Korean adults from 2009 to 2022. • Throughout our observation, including the pandemic, there was a significant increase in the prevalence of counseling for stress and depression. • Increasing trends in the prevalence of counseling for stress and depression had a significant surge after the pandemic. • Female sex, urban residence, low income, low self-rated health, low sleeping time, and high COVID-19 worries were linked to a higher prevalence of counseling for stress and depression. To investigate the long-term trends in counseling for stress and depression using data from a nationwide survey in South Korea. We conducted a nationwide serial, large-scale, cross-sectional, survey-based study using data from 2,903,887 Korean adults from the Korea Community Health Survey, 2009–2022. Our study investigated the trends and risk factors for counseling for stress and depression during the pre-pandemic (2009–2019) and pandemic era (2020–2022). The prevalence of counseling for stress and depression increased across pre-pandemic (counseling for stress: β, 0.217 [95 % CI, 0.194 to 0.241]; counseling for depression: β, 0.136 [0.118 to 0.154]) and pandemic periods (β, 0.324 [0.287 to 0.360]; β, 0.210 [0.182 to 0.239], respectively). The prevalence of counseling for stress and depression showed steeper slopes for increasing trends after the outbreak. In addition, subgroups with female sex, urban residence, lower household income, lower self-rated health, shorter sleep time, and higher worries about contracting COVID-19 were the risk factors associated with the increased prevalence of counseling for stress and depression. Our study analyzed the trends in counseling for stress and depression among over two million South Korean adults in 2009–2022, revealing a significant escalation during the pandemic. These findings emphasize the need for mental health policies to support vulnerable groups during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]