The association between the restriction of daily life and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in Korea: a nationwide based survey

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to substantial daily life changes for people worldwide. We investigated the association between daily life restrictions and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic based on the Korea Community Health Survey. Daily life restrictions were evaluated using a questionnaire to population into three restriction categories: no/slightly, moderately, and severely. Depression was assessed by the Korean version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Chi-square tests and Fisher’s exact tests were used to compare the demographic characteristics of individuals with and without depression. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between the severity of daily life restrictions and the prevalence of depression. The prevalence of depression was 2.4% in the total population: 5.7% in the severely restricted group and 2.7% in the moderately restricted group. After adjusting for age, sex, educational level, income, marital status, and employment status, the severely restricted group was more likely to have depression than was the no change/slightly restricted group (OR = 2.40, 95% CI 2.16–2.67, p < 0.001). Employers with severely restricted daily life exhibited a higher OR for depression compared to the no/slightly restricted group (OR = 3.24, 95% CI 2.37–4.45, p < 0.001). It is necessary to consider the mental health of vulnerable affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.