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OBJECTIVES@#Unexpected changes in daily routines caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may affect psychological health. This study investigated the association between various types of COVID-19-related fear and the subjective level of disturbance in daily activities experienced by individuals. @*METHODS@#This cross-sectional study used the Korea Community Health Survey conducted from August through November 2020. COVID-19-related fear included fear of infection, death, public criticism, family members getting infected, and economic loss. The subjective level of disruption in daily activities was measured using a 0-100 numeric rating scale developed by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Multivariable linear regression was used to analyze the associations between the independent and dependent variables. A subgroup analysis was performed based on income level. @*RESULTS@#Participants who reported fear of infection (β=-3.37, p<0.001), death (β=-0.33, p=0.030), public criticism (β=-1.63, p<0.001), a family member getting infected (β=-1.03, p<0.001), and economic loss (β=-3.52, p<0.001) experienced more disturbances in daily activities. The magnitude of this association was most significant in the lowest-income group. @*CONCLUSIONS@#Individuals reporting COVID-19-related fear experienced higher levels of subjective disruption in daily activities.
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Objective@#This study investigated the association between ability to rest at home in times of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptom manifestation and depressive symptoms. @*Methods@#The 2020 Korea Community Health Survey data were used. The presence of depressive symptoms was determined using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. The relationship between depressive symptoms and ability to rest at home was examined using logistic regression analysis. Additional analysis was performed on the reasons for the inability to stay at home. @*Results@#Depressive symptoms were more common in participants who could not rest at home if symptoms manifested (4.1%) than those who could rest at home (2.7%). Participants who could not rest at home (OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.34–1.74) were more likely to have depressive symptoms, particularly when they had to report to work (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.30–1.74) or purchase daily necessities (OR 2.40, 95% CI 1.15–5.03). @*Conclusion@#Inability to rest at home in the case of COVID-19 symptom manifestation was associated with depressive symptoms. The findings suggest the need to address the identified vulnerable groups to mitigate the mental health consequences of the pandemic.
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Background@#In this study, we aimed to investigate the interaction effects of individual socioeconomic status and regional deprivation on the onset of diabetes complications and diabetes-related hospitalization among type 2 diabetes patients. @*Methods@#Korean National Health Insurance Service National Sample Cohort data from 2002 to 2013 were used. A total of 50,954 patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes from 2004 to 2012 and aged 30 years or above were included. We classified patients into six groups according to individual income level and neighborhood deprivation: ‘high in advantaged,’ ‘high in disadvantaged,’ ‘middle in advantaged,’ ‘middle in disadvantaged,’ ‘low in advantaged,’ and ‘low in disadvantaged.’ We calculated hazard ratios (HR) of onset of diabetes complication and diabetes-related hospitalization using the Cox proportional hazard model, with the reference group as diabetes patients with high income in advantaged regions. @*Results@#In terms of the interaction effects of individual income level and regional socioeconomic level, even with the same low individual income level, the group with a high regional socioeconomic level (low in advantaged) showed low HRs for the onset of diabetes complication (HR, 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00–1.08) compared to the ‘low in disadvantaged’ group (HR, 1.10;95% CI, 1.05–1.16). In addition, the ‘high in advantaged’ group showed slightly higher HRs for the onset of diabetes complication (HR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.00–1.11) compared to the ‘low in advantaged’ and it appeared to be associated with slight mitigation of the risk of diabetes complication. For the low-income level, the patients in disadvantaged regions showed the highest HRs for diabetes-related hospitalization (HR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.19–1.41) compared to the other groups. @*Conclusion@#Although we need to perform further investigations to reveal the mechanisms that led to our results, interaction effects individual socioeconomic status and regional deprivation might be associated with on onset of diabetes complications and diabetes-related hospitalization among type 2 diabetes patients.
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Background@#In this study, we aimed to investigate the interaction effects of individual socioeconomic status and regional deprivation on the onset of diabetes complications and diabetes-related hospitalization among type 2 diabetes patients. @*Methods@#Korean National Health Insurance Service National Sample Cohort data from 2002 to 2013 were used. A total of 50,954 patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes from 2004 to 2012 and aged 30 years or above were included. We classified patients into six groups according to individual income level and neighborhood deprivation: ‘high in advantaged,’ ‘high in disadvantaged,’ ‘middle in advantaged,’ ‘middle in disadvantaged,’ ‘low in advantaged,’ and ‘low in disadvantaged.’ We calculated hazard ratios (HR) of onset of diabetes complication and diabetes-related hospitalization using the Cox proportional hazard model, with the reference group as diabetes patients with high income in advantaged regions. @*Results@#In terms of the interaction effects of individual income level and regional socioeconomic level, even with the same low individual income level, the group with a high regional socioeconomic level (low in advantaged) showed low HRs for the onset of diabetes complication (HR, 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00–1.08) compared to the ‘low in disadvantaged’ group (HR, 1.10;95% CI, 1.05–1.16). In addition, the ‘high in advantaged’ group showed slightly higher HRs for the onset of diabetes complication (HR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.00–1.11) compared to the ‘low in advantaged’ and it appeared to be associated with slight mitigation of the risk of diabetes complication. For the low-income level, the patients in disadvantaged regions showed the highest HRs for diabetes-related hospitalization (HR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.19–1.41) compared to the other groups. @*Conclusion@#Although we need to perform further investigations to reveal the mechanisms that led to our results, interaction effects individual socioeconomic status and regional deprivation might be associated with on onset of diabetes complications and diabetes-related hospitalization among type 2 diabetes patients.
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Background@#In this study, we aimed to investigate the recent trends for health care indicators including maternal mortality ratio, infant mortality rate, under-five mortality rate, life expectancy, years of life lost, and healthcare resources in South Korea, North Korea, Germany, Russian Federation, Mongolia, Vietnam, China, Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary. @*Methods@#We used data from five sources: World Health Organization, Federal Institute for Population Research, World Bank, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development health statistics, and national statistics. @*Results@#In the early 1990s, health indicators continued to improve in countries that switched to the health insurance system, but the gap widened in North Korea as health indicators worsened. @*Conclusion@#The establishment of a sustainable health care system after unification of the Korean peninsula requires substantial changes in the health care system and efforts to improve the health of North Koreans.
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Suicide has been a long-standing problem for global public health, along with almost 800,000 deaths from suicide worldwide in 2016, accounting for 1.4% of all deaths. South Korea was ranked first in suicide mortality in 2018 among countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. This study aimed to suggest up-to-date information about suicide-related indicators such as the rate of suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, and suicide death, and its trends by applying sampling weight to make it nationally representative. In this study, we used the data sources: Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination (KNHANES, ‘07–13, ‘15–18), Korean Community Health Survey (KCHS, ‘08–09, ‘13, ‘17), Korean Wealth Panel Study (KOWEPS, ‘12–18), Korea Health Panel Survey (KHP, ‘10–13), and Statistics Korea (1983–2017). The rate of suicidal ideation as recent year was 4.73% (KNHANES, ‘17), 6.96% (KCHS, ‘17), 2.29% (KOWEPS, ‘18), and 5.39% (KHP, ‘13). That of suicide attempt as recent year was 0.51% (KNHANES, ‘18), 0.32% (KCHS, ‘17), and 0.15% (KOWEPS, ‘18). Annual percentage change (APC) of suicidal ideation was -15.4% (KNHANES, ‘07–13, ‘15, ‘17), -2.5% (KCHS, ‘08–09, ‘13, ‘17), -10.8% (KOWEPS, ‘12–18), and -10.9% (KHP, ‘10–13). APC of suicide attempt was -4.4% (KNHANES, ‘07–13, ‘15-18), -4.4% (KCHS, ‘08–09, ‘13, ‘17), and -13.6% (KOWEPS, ‘12–18). APC of death by intentional self-harm was -1.25% (Statistics Korea, ‘07–18). All suicide-related indicators were found to be decreasing in the overall from 2009. Individuals with lower income level were more likely to experience suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Even though suicide rate had been continuously decreasing from its highest point in 2011 (suicide rate: 31.7 per 100,000 population) to 2017 (suicide rate: 24.3 per 100,000 population), it increased again in 2018 (suicide rate: 26.6 per 100,000 population). This information would be grounded on policy implementation for suicide prevention, thus continuous data observation is necessary.
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BACKGROUND: Weekend admission is known for having association with increased mortality attributed by poor quality of care and severe patients. We investigated the association between hospital admission on weekends and the in-hospital mortality rates of patients with cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, we examined this association stratified by admission via emergency room or not. METHODS: We analyzed claim data provided by the Health Insurance Review & Assessment in 2013. In total, 80,817 cardiovascular patients were included in this study, which treated in-hospital mortality (early and during total length of stay) as a dependent variable. A generalized linear mixed effects model was used. We conducted subgroup analyses stratified by admission via emergency room or not. RESULTS: Patients who admitted on weekend showed higher in-hospital mortality both early (odds ratio [OR], 1.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23–1.78) and during total length of stay (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.02–1.33) compared to those admitted on weekdays. Patients who were admitted to the hospital on a weekend by emergency room were more likely to experience early in-hospital mortality compared to those admitted on weekdays. Furthermore, we found that patients not admitted to the hospital through the emergency department were more likely to experience both early and total length of stay in-hospital mortality. CONCLUSION: Our study shows higher in-hospital mortality rates for cardiovascular patients admitted on weekends. Efforts to improve the quality of care on weekend are important to mitigate the ‘weekend effect’ and improve patient outcomes.
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Humanos , Doenças Cardiovasculares , Serviço Hospitalar de Emergência , Mortalidade Hospitalar , Hospitalização , Seguro Saúde , Coreia (Geográfico) , Tempo de Internação , Mortalidade , Qualidade da Assistência à SaúdeRESUMO
BACKGROUND: In this study, we aimed to investigate the drinking behaviors and drinking-related problems of college students in South Korea to produce national alcohol statistics. METHODS: We carefully examined the questionnaires and previous research developed in the previous research project and selected questions that reflect the special environment and culture of college students. In order to stratify a nationally representative sample of college students, the distribution of students around the country were found through the educational statistics database of the Korea Educational Development Institute. Based on this information, we conducted a survey in collaboration with Gallup (Korea) to survey and analyze the drinking behaviors of 5,024 Korean students. RESULTS: A nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2017, for Korean college students. A total of 5,024 students were recruited and analyzed. The monthly drinking rate was 78.0% for male students and 72.9% for female students. The high-risk drinking rate was 23.3% for male students and 17.2% for female students. The most popular category for number of drinks per drinking session was ‘more than 10 glasses’ per drinking session for both male (44.1%) and female (32.8%). On the alcohol use disorders identification test, the greatest proportion of male students were in the high-risk drinking category (score 8 to 15) 43.8%, followed by the ‘low-risk drinking’ (score 0 to 7) in 43.6%, ‘alcohol abuse’ (score 16 to 19) 7.2%, and ‘alcohol dependence’ (greater than 20) 5.4% categories, respectively. For female students, the greatest proportion of female students were in the ‘low-risk drinking’ in 49.6%, followed by ‘high-risk drinking’ 37.1%, ‘alcohol abuse’ 8.4%, and ‘alcohol dependence’ 4.9% categories, respectively. CONCLUSION: The results of the study showed that the drinking behavior of Korean college students was excessive. Overall, it was found that the college population has a greater high-risk drinking behaviors than general adult population. Furthermore, these problem drinking behaviors were prominent among female college students. Results from the present study suggest that it is necessary to monitor the drinking behavior of college students with constant interest and to prepare policies and strategies suitable for these circumstances.
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Adulto , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Comportamento Cooperativo , Estudos Transversais , Ingestão de Líquidos , Comportamento de Ingestão de Líquido , Coreia (Geográfico)RESUMO
Suicide is a major public health issue that causes over 800,000 deaths each year globally. Korea ranks high in suicide rates, in which around 24.3 per 100,000 individuals are reported to have died by intentional self-harm in 2017 according to Statistics Korea. The aim of this study was to examine the current status and trend of suicide ideation and attempt using data from the following five sources: Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination (KNHANES, ‘07–13, ‘15–17), Korean Community Health Survey (KCHS, ‘08–09, ’13, ’17), Korean Wealth Panel Study (KOWEPS, ‘12–17), Korea Health Panel Survey (KHP, ‘10–13), and Statistics Korea (1983–2017). Suicide ideation and attempts were also further examined based on equalized household income levels. Data published by Statistics Korea were used to show the updated suicide rate and number of deaths by intentional self-harm. The rate of suicide ideation at the recent year was 4.73% (KNHANES, ‘17), 6.96% (KCHS, ‘17), 1.63% (KOWEPS, ‘17), and 5.39% (KHP, ‘13). That of suicide attempts as recent year was 0.71% (KNHANES, ‘17), 0.32% (KCHS, ‘17), and 0.09% (KOWEPS, ‘17). Annual percentage change of suicidal ideation was −15.4% (KNHANES, ‘07–17), −2.5% (KCHS, ‘08–17), −8.6% (KOWEPS, ‘12–17), and −10.9% (KHP, ‘10–13). Annual percentage change of suicide attempts was −4.0% (KNHANES, ‘07–17), −4.4% (KCHS, ‘08–17), and −14.9% (KOWEPS, ‘12–17). Individuals with lower income levels were more likely to experience suicide ideation and attempts. Considering that Korea still shows a high suicide rate despite the continuously decreasing trend of suicide ideation and attempt, continuous observation and appropriate policy implementation regarding suicide related problems are necessary.
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Características da Família , Inquéritos Epidemiológicos , Coreia (Geográfico) , Saúde Pública , Ideação Suicida , SuicídioRESUMO
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Although there is growing interest in hospice-palliative care, little information is available on the effects of such care in South Korea. Addressing this research gap, i.e., determining the cost-effectiveness of hospice-palliative care in South Korea, will help guide policy. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness analysis of hospice-palliative care in adults diagnosed with terminal cancer. METHODS: We used a Markov model to construct a decision tree, for an analysis comparing the general ward with the hospice-palliative ward in terms of patient quality of life and cost-effectiveness. Cost and quality of life were estimated based on published Korean studies. Cost-effectiveness was calculated as the incremental cost relative to the incremental effect. Additionally, a one-way sensitivity analysis was performed to test the robustness of the results. RESULTS: Hospice-palliative ward care was more cost-effective than general ward care. The incremental cost was 290,401 Korean won (KRW) and the incremental effect was −0.25. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was −1,174,045 KRW. A similar pattern of results was obtained in the sensitivity analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that hospice-palliative ward care is more cost-effective than general ward care.
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Adulto , Humanos , Análise Custo-Benefício , Árvores de Decisões , Cuidados Paliativos na Terminalidade da Vida , Coreia (Geográfico) , Quartos de Pacientes , Qualidade de VidaRESUMO
BACKGROUND/AIMS@#Although there is growing interest in hospice-palliative care, little information is available on the effects of such care in South Korea. Addressing this research gap, i.e., determining the cost-effectiveness of hospice-palliative care in South Korea, will help guide policy. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness analysis of hospice-palliative care in adults diagnosed with terminal cancer.@*METHODS@#We used a Markov model to construct a decision tree, for an analysis comparing the general ward with the hospice-palliative ward in terms of patient quality of life and cost-effectiveness. Cost and quality of life were estimated based on published Korean studies. Cost-effectiveness was calculated as the incremental cost relative to the incremental effect. Additionally, a one-way sensitivity analysis was performed to test the robustness of the results.@*RESULTS@#Hospice-palliative ward care was more cost-effective than general ward care. The incremental cost was 290,401 Korean won (KRW) and the incremental effect was −0.25. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was −1,174,045 KRW. A similar pattern of results was obtained in the sensitivity analysis.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Our results suggest that hospice-palliative ward care is more cost-effective than general ward care.
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Suicide has been a public health issue in many countries, and Korea has ranked highest suicide rate among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries over a decade. To address these issues, we updated the recent trends in suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among Korean adults followed by previous data observation. We used data from five sources: Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination (KNHANES, '07–12, '13, '15–16), Korean Community Health Survey (KCHS, '08–09, '13), Korean Wealth Panel Study (KOWEPS, '12–16), Korea Health Panel Survey (KHP, '10–13), and cause of death data from Statistics Korea ('07–16). We used weighted frequencies and trend tests. The rate of suicidal ideation as recent year was 5.10% (KNHANES, '15), 8.95% (KCHS, '13), 2.08% (KOWEPS, '16), and 5.39% (KHP, '13). That of suicide attempts as recent year was 0.59% (KNHANES, '16), 0.41% (KCHS, '13), and 0.08% (KOWEPS, '16). Annual percentage change of suicidal ideation was −2.80% (KNHANES, '07–12), 5.78% (KNHANES, '13–15), 0.62% (KCHS, '08–13), −8.50% (KOWEPS, '12–16), and −10.94% (KHP, '10–13). Annual percentage change of suicide attempts was −3.84% (KNHANES, '07–12), 2.26% (KNHANES, '13–16), −2.53% (KCHS, '08–13), and −20.22% (KOWEPS, '12–16). Annual percentage change of death by intentional self-harm was −0.49% (Statistics Korea, '07–16). Individuals who had lower income level were more likely to experience suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. According to these results, the rate of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts showed the decreasing tendency. However, the suicide rate of Korea has remained higher than that of OECD countries. Thus, continuous data observation and effective policies on suicide are needed.
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Adulto , Humanos , Causas de Morte , Inquéritos Epidemiológicos , Coreia (Geográfico) , Organização para a Cooperação e Desenvolvimento Econômico , Saúde Pública , Ideação Suicida , SuicídioRESUMO
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to estimate the burden of breast cancer that can be attributed to rapid lifestyle changes in South Korea in 2013-2030. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An age-period-cohort model was used to estimate the incidence and mortality. The Global Burden of Disease Study Group methodwas used to calculate the years of life lost and years lived with disability in breast cancer patients using a nationwide cancer registry. The population attributable riskswere calculated using meta-analyzed relative risk ratios and by assessing the prevalence of risk factors. RESULTS: Women’s reproductive/lifestyle changes, including advanced maternal age at first childbirth (from 37 to 85 disability-adjusted life years [DALYs] per 100,000 person-years), total period of breastfeeding (from 22 to 46 DALYs per 100,000 person-years), obesity (from 37 to 61 DALYs per 100,000 person-years), alcohol consumption (from 19 to 39 DALYs per 100,000 person-years), oral contraceptive use (from 18 to 27 DALYs per 100,000 person-years), and hormone replacement therapy use (from 2 to 3 DALYs per 100,000 person-years) were identified as factors likely to increase the burden of breast cancer from 2013 to 2030. Approximately, 34.2% to 44.3% of the burden of breast cancer could be avoidable in 2030 with reduction in reproductive/lifestyle risk factors. CONCLUSION: The rapid changes of age structure and lifestyle in South Korea during the last decade are expected to strongly increase the breast cancer burden over time unless the risk factors can be effectively modified.
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Feminino , Humanos , Consumo de Bebidas Alcoólicas , Aleitamento Materno , Neoplasias da Mama , Mama , Terapia de Reposição Hormonal , Incidência , Coreia (Geográfico) , Estilo de Vida , Idade Materna , Mortalidade , Obesidade , Razão de Chances , Parto , Prevalência , República da Coreia , Fatores de RiscoRESUMO
Suicide is becoming a public health issue in many countries, and even more so in Korea. Korea has the highest suicide rate in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. To address these issues, we investigated the recent trends in suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among the adult population. We used data from four sources: Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES, ‘2007–2012, ‘2013, ‘2015), Korean Community Health Survey (KCHS, ‘2008–2009, ‘2013), Korean Wealth Panel Study (KOWEPS, ‘2012–2015), and Korea Health Panel Survey (KHP, ‘2010–2013). Weighted frequencies and trend tests were used. The rate of suicidal ideation as recent year was 5.10% (KNHANES, ‘2015), 8.95% (KCHS, ‘2013), 2.34% (KOWEPS, ‘2015), or 5.39% (KHP, ‘2013). Regarding the suicide attempts, the rate of suicide attempts as recent year was 0.61% (KNHANES, ‘2015), 0.41% (KCHS, ‘2013), or 0.04% (KOWEPS, ‘2015). Average percent change of suicidal ideation during survey year was -2.80% (KNHANES, ‘2007–2012), 5.78% (KNHANES, ‘2013–2015), 0.62% (KCHS, ‘2008–2013), -5.63% (KOWEPS, ‘2012–2015), and -10.94% (KHP, ‘2010–2013). Average percent change of suicide attempts during survey year was -3.84% (KNHANES, ‘2007–2012), 4.55% (KNHANES, ‘2013–2015), -2.54% (KCHS, ‘2008–2013), and -18.96% (KOWEPS, ‘2012–2015). Those who had lower income level were more likely to have self-reported suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Our results suggest that further efforts are needed for more effective intervention to identify and manage low income strata with suicide problem.
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Adulto , Humanos , Inquéritos Epidemiológicos , Coreia (Geográfico) , Inquéritos Nutricionais , Organização para a Cooperação e Desenvolvimento Econômico , Saúde Pública , Ideação Suicida , SuicídioRESUMO
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between retirement preparation and depressive symptoms among Koreans 50 years of age or older. We used data from the 2009 to 2013 Korean Retirement and Income Panel Study (KReIS), which included data from the 365 baseline participants of 50 years of age or older. Our sample included only newly retired participants who worked in 2009, but had retired in the 2011 and 2013. To monitor the change in depressive symptoms according to retirement preparation, we used repeated measurement data. We measured depressive symptoms using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) 20-item scale. In addition, we measured retirement preparation using a single self-report question asking whether the participant was financially ready for retirement. We evaluated relationship between retirement preparation and depressive symptoms after multivariable adjustment. Compared to subjects who had prepared for retirement (reference group), participants who had not prepared for retirement had increased depression scores (β = 2.49, P < 0.001). In addition, individuals who had not prepared for retirement and who had low household income had the highest increase in depression scores (β = 4.43, P < 0.001). Individuals, who had not prepared for retirement and without a national pension showed a considerable increase in depression scores (β = 3.02, P < 0.001). It is suggested that guaranteed retirement preparation is especially important for mental health of retired elderly individuals with low economic strata.
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Idoso , Humanos , Depressão , Estudos Epidemiológicos , Características da Família , Saúde Mental , Pensões , AposentadoriaRESUMO
Three of ten teenagers in Korea are addicted to mobile phones. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between mobile phone addiction and the incidence of poor sleep quality and short sleep duration in adolescents. We used longitudinal data from the Korean Children & Youth Panel Survey conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute in Korea (2011–2013). A total of 1,125 students at baseline were included in this study after excluding those who already had poor sleep quality or short sleep duration in the previous year. A generalized estimating equation was used to analyze the data. High mobile phone addiction (mobile phone addiction score > 20) increased the risk of poor sleep quality but not short sleep duration. We suggest that consistent monitoring and effective intervention programs are required to prevent mobile phone addiction and improve adolescents' sleep quality.
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Adolescente , Criança , Humanos , Telefone Celular , Incidência , Coreia (Geográfico) , Estudos LongitudinaisRESUMO
Suicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents globally, and body weight is also a recognized reason for adolescent suicide. Therefore, we investigated the association between weight control behaviors (WCB) and suicide ideation and attempt, focusing on inappropriate weight control measures. We used data from the 2014 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey, representing a total of 35,224 boys and 34,361 girls aged 12 to 18 years. Adolescents were classified into groups based on WCB: appropriate WCB, inappropriate WCB, and no WCB. We performed logistic regression models to examine associations between WCB and suicide ideation and attempt, controlling for covariates. Both boys and girls with inappropriate WCB were more likely to report suicide ideation and attempt. Underweight and normal weight boys with inappropriate WCB were more likely to think or attempt suicide, and underweight girls with inappropriate WCB were also more likely to attempt suicide. Among five common WCB combinations, the combination of "regular exercise, fasting, eating less" was highly associated with suicide ideation and attempt. We confirmed that inappropriate WCB is associated with suicide ideation and attempt among Korean adolescents. Given the high incidence rate of suicide among adolescents and the adverse effect of inappropriate WCB, encouraging adolescents to control their weight in healthy ways is imperative.