Activities of Daily Living, Depression, and Self-rated Health and Related Factors in Korean Elderly: Focused on Socioeconomic Status and Family Support

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to identify activities of daily living, depression and self-rated health and related factors for Korean Elderly. METHODS: Data from the survey for the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging in 2010 were used. The data were analyzed using frequencies, weighted proportions, and hierarchical multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: Significant difference was observed in health status induced by socioeconomic status between men and women, but not among age groups. Socioeconomic status was strongly associated with self-rated health among male and female elders. Being unschooled and low net family asset were significantly related with dependency in activities of daily living and depressive symptoms among men. Only low net family asset was significantly related with depressive symptoms among women. Family support provides a slight decrease to the negative relationship between socioeconomic status and health status, especially depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that interventions to reduce health inequalities should target elderly with lower socioeconomic status and with poor family support, using a gender-specific approach.