[Association between Social Isolation and Depression among Korean Living Alone]

Single-person households have been continuously increasing in recent times and are reporting more negative mental health outcomes. However, rather than whether single-person households are related to mental health, it is necessary to examine what characteristics of these households are associated with mental health. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the association between social isolation and depression in single-person households and explore the differences across different age groups. We employed the 2017 Community Health Survey and study population were included adults aged 19 and above living alone. Chi-square tests were conducted to compare the differences between groups with and without depression according to age groups and multiple logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between depression and social isolation. Socioeconomic factors, and health-related factors were controlled as confounding factors. The study found that social isolation had an association with depression in young, middle-aged, and elderly individuals, with the middle-aged group showing the strongest association. Especially, among the three variables constructing social isolation, economic activity showed the most significant association with depression for middle-aged and elderly individuals. Based on these research findings, we suggest that support for social isolation for single-person households is necessary, particularly for the middle-aged and elderly population.