The Proportion of COVID-19 Depression Risk Group in 20s and 30s is 1.5 Times Higher than in 50s and 60s

Depression Scores Highest Among Women in Their 20s; Depression Risk Group Rate Highest Among Men in Their 20s

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The proportion of people at risk of depression due to COVID-19 in their 20s and 30s was found to be more than 1.5 times higher than that of those in their 50s and 60s.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (Minister Kwon Deok-cheol) conducted the second quarter 'COVID-19 National Mental Health Survey' and announced these results on the 26th.

The Ministry commissioned the Korean Society of Trauma Stress Studies (Korean Research) to conduct an online survey from June 15 to 25 targeting 2,063 adults aged 19 to 71 nationwide. The results showed a slight improvement in mental health levels compared to the previous quarter.

The proportion of those at risk of depression in the second quarter decreased from 22.8% in March to 18.1% in June, and the rate of suicidal thoughts also dropped from 16.3% in March to 12.4% in June.

However, the rates of depression and suicidal thoughts remained at high levels.

The average depression score was 5.0 points (out of 27), down from 5.7 points in the March survey, and the proportion of those at risk of depression (scoring 10 or more out of 27) also decreased by 4.7 percentage points to 18.1%, returning to the early COVID-19 outbreak level.

Nevertheless, compared to the pre-COVID-19 period in 2019, when the average depression score was 2.1 points and the risk group proportion was 3.2%, the levels remain significantly high.

In particular, people in their 20s and 30s showed the highest average depression scores and risk group proportions. The average depression scores were 5.8 for those in their 20s and 5.6 for those in their 30s, with the 30s maintaining a consistently high level since the first survey last year. The 20s had the lowest score of 4.6 in the initial March survey but then sharply increased to a high level in the recent survey.

The depression risk group proportions for those in their 20s and 30s were 24.3% and 22.6%, respectively, more than 1.5 times higher than those in their 50s and 60s (each 13.5%), indicating that younger generations are more negatively affected in terms of mental health due to COVID-19.

Both depression scores (men 4.7, women 5.3) and depression risk group proportions (men 17.2%, women 18.9%) were higher among women than men. The highest depression score was among women in their 20s at 5.9 points across all genders and age groups, while the highest risk group proportions were among men in their 20s at 25.5% and men in their 30s at 24.9%, ranking highest among all genders and age groups.

As of June this year, the rate of suicidal thoughts was 12.4%, a 3.9 percentage point decrease from 16.3% in March, but still about 2.5 times higher than the pre-COVID-19 rate of 4.6% in 2019, remaining at a high level.

Similar to depression, the rates of suicidal thoughts were highest among those in their 20s and 30s at 17.5% and 14.7%, respectively. Those in their 50s and 60s showed rates of 9.3% and 8.2%, respectively.

By gender, suicidal thoughts were higher among men at 13.8% compared to women at 11%. Particularly, men in their 20s and 30s had the highest rates at 20.8% and 17.4%, respectively, among all genders and age groups, followed by women in their 20s at 14%.

The fear of COVID-19 averaged 1.6 points (out of 3), generally decreasing compared to previous survey results.

Yeom Min-seop, Director of Mental Health Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, "The mental health level of the public remains serious. With the strengthening of social distancing from July, psychological difficulties are increasing, and experts are concerned about a possible rise in suicides 2 to 3 years after a disaster. We will provide meticulous support from a long-term perspective to help the public recover their mental health."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.