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Gender Inequalities in Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Population-based Study in Korea

OBJECTIVES: This study explored the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on psychosocial stress in prime working-age individuals in Korea, focusing on gender inequalities. We hypothesized that the impact of COVID-19 on mental health would differ by age and gender, with younger...

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Autores principales: Kang, Minku, Yu, Sarah, Choe, Seung-Ah, Moon, Daseul, Ki, Myung, Chun, Byung Chul
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Korean Society for Preventive Medicine 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10579638/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37735833
http://dx.doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.23.170
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author Kang, Minku
Yu, Sarah
Choe, Seung-Ah
Moon, Daseul
Ki, Myung
Chun, Byung Chul
author_facet Kang, Minku
Yu, Sarah
Choe, Seung-Ah
Moon, Daseul
Ki, Myung
Chun, Byung Chul
author_sort Kang, Minku
collection PubMed
description OBJECTIVES: This study explored the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on psychosocial stress in prime working-age individuals in Korea, focusing on gender inequalities. We hypothesized that the impact of COVID-19 on mental health would differ by age and gender, with younger women potentially demonstrating heightened vulnerability relative to men. METHODS: The study involved data from the Korea Community Health Survey and included 319 592 adults aged 30 years to 49 years. We employed log-binomial regression analysis, controlling for variables including age, education, employment status, marital status, and the presence of children. The study period included 3 phases: the period prior to the COVID-19 outbreak (pre–COVID-19), the early pandemic, and the period following the introduction of vaccinations (post-vaccination). RESULTS: The findings indicated that women were at a heightened risk of psychosocial stress during the early pandemic (relative risk [RR], 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98 to 1.05) and post-vaccination period (RR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.10) compared to men. This pattern was prominent in urban women aged 30–34 years (pre–COVID-19: RR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.10; early pandemic: RR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.08 to 1.25; post-vaccination period, RR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.14 to 1.31). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted unequal impacts on psychosocial stress among prime working-age individuals in Korea, with women, particularly those in urban areas, experiencing a heightened risk. The findings highlight the importance of addressing gender-specific needs and implementing appropriate interventions to mitigate the psychosocial consequences of the pandemic.
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spelling pubmed-105796382023-10-18 Gender Inequalities in Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Population-based Study in Korea Kang, Minku Yu, Sarah Choe, Seung-Ah Moon, Daseul Ki, Myung Chun, Byung Chul J Prev Med Public Health Original Article OBJECTIVES: This study explored the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on psychosocial stress in prime working-age individuals in Korea, focusing on gender inequalities. We hypothesized that the impact of COVID-19 on mental health would differ by age and gender, with younger women potentially demonstrating heightened vulnerability relative to men. METHODS: The study involved data from the Korea Community Health Survey and included 319 592 adults aged 30 years to 49 years. We employed log-binomial regression analysis, controlling for variables including age, education, employment status, marital status, and the presence of children. The study period included 3 phases: the period prior to the COVID-19 outbreak (pre–COVID-19), the early pandemic, and the period following the introduction of vaccinations (post-vaccination). RESULTS: The findings indicated that women were at a heightened risk of psychosocial stress during the early pandemic (relative risk [RR], 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98 to 1.05) and post-vaccination period (RR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.10) compared to men. This pattern was prominent in urban women aged 30–34 years (pre–COVID-19: RR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.10; early pandemic: RR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.08 to 1.25; post-vaccination period, RR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.14 to 1.31). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted unequal impacts on psychosocial stress among prime working-age individuals in Korea, with women, particularly those in urban areas, experiencing a heightened risk. The findings highlight the importance of addressing gender-specific needs and implementing appropriate interventions to mitigate the psychosocial consequences of the pandemic. Korean Society for Preventive Medicine 2023-09 2023-08-19 /pmc/articles/PMC10579638/ /pubmed/37735833 http://dx.doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.23.170 Text en Copyright © 2023 The Korean Society for Preventive Medicine https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Original Article
Kang, Minku
Yu, Sarah
Choe, Seung-Ah
Moon, Daseul
Ki, Myung
Chun, Byung Chul
Gender Inequalities in Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Population-based Study in Korea
title Gender Inequalities in Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Population-based Study in Korea
title_full Gender Inequalities in Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Population-based Study in Korea
title_fullStr Gender Inequalities in Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Population-based Study in Korea
title_full_unstemmed Gender Inequalities in Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Population-based Study in Korea
title_short Gender Inequalities in Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Population-based Study in Korea
title_sort gender inequalities in mental health during the covid-19 pandemic: a population-based study in korea
topic Original Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10579638/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37735833
http://dx.doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.23.170
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