Factors Associated with Depressive Symptoms Among Korean Young Adults by Sex in the Third Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background/Objectives: This study analyzed factors associated with depressive symptoms by sex among Korean young adults in the third year of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: The subjects of this secondary data analysis were 47,353 young adults (23,407 men and 23,946 women) aged 19–39 years from the nationwide 2022 Community Health Survey. Depressive symptoms were defined as a Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score ≥ 6. Complex sample multiple logistic regression analyses were performed for the total sample (adjusted for sex) and separately for men and women. Results: The proportion of participants with depressive symptoms was 16.3% in women and 10.1% in men, and women had higher odds of depressive symptoms than men (adjusted odds ratio = 1.89, 95% confidence interval: 1.72–2.07). In both sexes, high subjective stress, poor subjective health status, short or long sleep duration, perceiving oneself as obese, living alone, low household income, and smoking were associated with depressive symptoms, whereas a higher body mass index (obesity in men and overweight in women) was associated with lower odds. Lower education; being separated, widowed, or divorced; having no occupation; and perceiving oneself as skinny were associated with depressive symptoms only in men, whereas binge drinking was associated with depressive symptoms only in women. Conclusions: Korean young adults showed both common and sex-specific correlates of depressive symptoms in 2022. Screening and intervention programs for depressive symptoms in young adults may need to consider psychological stress, sleep, and economic and household conditions, as well as sex differences.