Associations of Alcohol Consumption and Smoking Behaviors with Depressed Mood According to Gender in Korean Young Adults

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have reported that chronic mental health problems often emerge in young adulthood. This study elucidated the independent effects of smoking and drinking on depressed mood in young adults by sex. METHODS: We used Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys conducted in 2014, 2016, and 2018. A total of 3,391 participants aged 19–35 years, without serious chronic diseases, were recruited for this study. Depression was evaluated using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). RESULTS: Smoking behavior, current smoking, and number of days smoked were significantly associated with higher PHQ-9 scores in both men and women (all P<0.05). However, past and ever smoking were positively associated with PHQ-9 scores only in women (all P<0.001). Regarding alcohol consumption, the age at which drinking first began was negatively associated with PHQ-9 scores in both men and women (all P<0.001), but the amount of alcohol consumed at 1 time was positively associated with PHQ-9 scores only in women (P=0.013). Men who drank 2–4 times a month and women who had not drunk during the past year had the lowest PHQ-9 scores. CONCLUSION: Smoking and alcohol consumption were independently associated with depressed mood in young Korean adults, which was more pronounced in women, and exhibited sex-specific characteristics.