Table 2. Nationwide trends in prevalence of sadness status from Korean adults in Community Health Survey, 2009-2021

Before the pandemic During the pandemic Sadness trend, β (95% CI) Trend difference, βdiff (95% CI) Before and during the COVID pandemic, OR (95% CI)
2009-2011 2012-2014 2015-2017 2018-2019 2020-2021 Before the pandemic During the pandemic 2020-2021 versus 2018-2019
Overall 6.026 (5.969 to 6.084) 5.901 (5.844 to 5.958) 6.235 (6.176 to 6.293) 5.860 (5.789 to 5.930) 6.372 (6.301 to 6.444) 0.000 (-0.006 to 0.006) 0.022 (0.018 to 0.027) 0.022 (0.015 to 0.030) 1.063 (1.049 to 1.077)
Income
< 3 million won 7.622 (7.523 to 7.721) 7.736 (7.637 to 7.834) 7.633 (7.545 to 7.721) 8.015 (7.883 to 8.146) 8.375 (8.243 to 8.507) 0.012 (0.005 to 0.020) 0.012 (0.006 to 0.018) 0.000 (-0.010 to 0.009) 1.093 (1.073 to 1.114)
≥ 3 million won 4.381 (4.288 to 4.474) 4.412 (4.330 to 4.494) 4.588 (4.513 to 4.663) 4.315 (4.224 to 4.406) 4.851 (4.754 to 4.949) 0.002 (-0.009 to 0.012) 0.031 (0.023 to 0.038) 0.029 (0.016 to 0.042) 1.097 (1.071 to 1.122)
Unknown 5.339 (5.240 to 5.439) 4.618 (4.502 to 4.734) 6.844 (6.208 to 7.480) 5.131 (4.974 to 5.287) 5.796 (5.646 to 5.945) -0.016 (-0.032 to -0.001) 0.032 (0.021 to 0.042) 0.048 (0.029 to 0.067) 1.145 (1.110 to 1.181)
Current smoking status
No 6.121 (6.055 to 6.187) 5.991 (5.926 to 6.056) 6.151 (6.086 to 6.215) 5.812 (5.735 to 5.889) 6.267 (6.190 to 6.345) -0.013 (-0.019 to -0.007) 0.020 (0.015 to 0.025) 0.033 (0.025 to 0.041) 1.041 (1.026 to 1.056)
Yes 5.707 (5.590 to 5.824) 5.564 (5.443 to 5.686) 6.603 (6.464 to 6.743) 6.086 (5.915 to 6.257) 6.906 (6.723 to 7.088) 0.050 (0.038 to 0.063) 0.034 (0.023 to 0.044) -0.017 (-0.033 to 0.000) 1.172 (1.137 to 1.209)
Alcohol consumption, days/month
0 6.984 (6.896 to 7.073) 6.827 (6.737 to 6.916) 7.226 (7.134 to 7.318) 6.799 (6.691 to 6.906) 7.130 (7.021 to 7.239) 0.000 (-0.008 to 0.008) 0.013 (0.007 to 0.019) 0.013 (0.003 to 0.022) 1.009 (0.983 to 1.037)
1-4 5.083 (4.988 to 5.179) 5.029 (4.933 to 5.124) 5.258 (5.161 to 5.356) 4.821 (4.704 to 4.939) 6.141 (5.992 to 6.290) -0.008 (-0.019 to 0.003) 0.064 (0.055 to 0.073) 0.072 (0.057 to 0.086) 1.225 (1.191 to 1.259)
5-30 5.215 (5.098 to 5.332) 5.168 (5.054 to 5.283) 5.530 (5.413 to 5.646) 5.160 (5.019 to 5.302) 5.328 (5.208 to 5.448) 0.009 (-0.004 to 0.022) 0.008 (-0.001 to 0.017) -0.001 (-0.016 to 0.015) 1.009 (0.983 to 1.037)
BMI group
Under and normal 6.314 (6.234 to 6.395) 6.185 (6.103 to 6.268) 6.668 (6.581 to 6.755) 6.203 (6.092 to 6.313) 6.777 (6.668 to 6.887) 0.008 (0.000 to 0.016) 0.024 (0.017 to 0.030) 0.015 (0.005 to 0.025) 1.071 (1.051 to 1.091)
Over and obese 5.704 (5.622 to 5.785) 5.603 (5.523 to 5.684) 5.828 (5.749 to 5.907) 5.606 (5.515 to 5.697) 6.040 (5.946 to 6.134) 0.000 (-0.008 to 0.008) 0.020 (0.014 to 0.026) 0.020 (0.010 to 0.030) 1.065 (1.046 to 1.085)
Education background
≤ High school 6.718 (6.644 to 6.792) 6.624 (6.548 to 6.699) 6.913 (6.835 to 6.990) 6.625 (6.532 to 6.719) 7.010 (6.914 to 7.106) 0.003 (-0.004 to 0.009) 0.015 (0.010 to 0.020) 0.013 (0.004 to 0.021) 1.046 (1.029 to 1.062)
≥ College 4.600 (4.512 to 4.689) 4.588 (4.502 to 4.673) 5.090 (5.003 to 5.177) 4.554 (4.451 to 4.656) 5.376 (5.270 to 5.481) 0.016 (0.005 to 0.026) 0.043 (0.036 to 0.051) 0.028 (0.014 to 0.041) 1.145 (1.119 to 1.171)
Occupational group
White-collar 4.150 (4.039 to 4.261) 4.133 (4.025 to 4.241) 4.629 (4.516 to 4.742) 4.147 (4.012 to 4.281) 4.877 (4.736 to 5.018) 0.021 (0.006 to 0.036) 0.042 (0.031 to 0.054) 0.022 (0.003 to 0.040) 1.147 (1.109 to 1.186)
Blue-collar 4.766 (4.686 to 4.845) 4.718 (4.641 to 4.796) 5.037 (4.958 to 5.117) 4.642 (4.547 to 4.738) 5.154 (5.054 to 5.254) 0.004 (-0.006 to 0.013) 0.027 (0.020 to 0.035) 0.024 (0.012 to 0.036) 1.076 (1.052 to 1.100)
Unknown 8.262 (8.156 to 8.368) 8.348 (8.236 to 8.461) 8.639 (8.525 to 8.754) 8.182 (8.048 to 8.316) 8.504 (8.372 to 8.636) 0.005 (-0.004 to 0.013) 0.011 (0.004 to 0.017) 0.006 (-0.004 to 0.016) 1.018 (0.999 to 1.037)
Marital status
Married 5.307 (5.244 to 5.371) 5.150 (5.087 to 5.214) 5.302 (5.237 to 5.367) 4.985 (4.906 to 5.063) 5.445 (5.364 to 5.527) -0.016 (-0.023 to -0.009) 0.023 (0.018 to 0.029) 0.039 (0.030 to 0.049) 1.049 (1.031 to 1.067)
Single 7.851 (7.729 to 7.973) 7.823 (7.699 to 7.946) 8.421 (8.298 to 8.544) 7.804 (7.660 to 7.947) 8.200 (8.062 to 8.339) 0.012 (0.002 to 0.021) 0.013 (0.007 to 0.020) 0.002 (-0.010 to 0.013) 1.028 (1.008 to 1.049)
Abbreviation: BMI, body mass index; CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio.
The bold numbers indicate a significant difference (p <0.05).