The effect of depression status change on daily cigarette smoking amount according to sex: an eleven-year follow up study of the Korea Welfare Panel Study

Background In the past decade, the Korean smoking rate has only decreased by 3%, despite several smoking control policies. There is a need for such policies to take smokers’ psychological characteristics into account. Depression is a well-known contributor to failed smoking cessation. This study aimed to examine the effect of smokers’ depression status changes on their daily cigarette smoking amount (DCA). Methods This study used a sample drawn from the Korea Welfare Panel Study (KoWePS) waves 3 (2008) to 13 (2018). The DCA refers to the number of the cigarettes smoked per day at the time of the survey. Depression was measured using an 11-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-11). A generalized estimating equation (GEE) model was employed to analyse the effect of change of depression status on DCA. Results The 2008 baseline included a total of 1821 participants: 1645 males and 176 females. The Yes→No male depression status group had lower DCA (β = − 0.631, p-value = 0.0248) than the No→No group. The Yes→No male depression status group that began smoking before age 19 had lower DCA (β = − 0.881, p-value: 0.0089) than the No→No group that started smoking before 19. Conclusions We found that a change from depressed to non-depressed and non-depressed to depressed status is associated with decreasing and increasing DCA among men, respectively. Also, for smokers who began smoking before 19 years of age, the subgroup that went from depressed to non-depressed had much a lower DCA than general smokers. Thus, when treating people participating in smoking cessation programs, counsellors should check for depression symptoms and encourage individuals to pursue depression treatment simultaneously.

Occurrence of male depression symptoms, suicidal behaviors, alcohol and tobacco use and level of personal resources in three male groups

Background and objective: The study was to compare the severity of male depression symptoms, suicidal behaviors, the use of psychoactive substances (alcohol, nicotine), and evaluate personal resources (self-efficacy, coping strategies and resilience) among men from three different groups. Material and methods: The clinical group contained men with depression disorders diagnosed by psychiatrists and treated in psychiatric hospitals (n = 197). The control groups contained men with physical disorders treated in general hospitals in Warsaw, Poland (n = 198) and men who self-evaluated themselves as healthy without physical or mental disorders (n = 203). Several tests were used for evaluation: a test with sociodemographic variables, the AUDIT Test, the Fagerstrom Test, the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), the MINI-COPE Questionnaire, the Resilience Evaluation Questionnaire (KOP-26), the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised by Osman (SBQ-R) and the Gotland Male Depression Scale (GMDS). Results: Most of the men with depression disorders presented non-typical symptoms of depression which are not included in diagnostic criteria. It allows us to assume that a large percentage of men who suffer from depression are not properly being diagnosed. Moreover, we found that men with any type of physical disorder have the greatest severity of male depression symptoms than healthy men. Men with depression disorders have suicidal thoughts and have made efforts in the past more often, as well as having higher alcohol and nicotine addictions. Patients who overuse or are addicted to alcohol or nicotine should be additionally screened for the possible occurrence of depressive disorders, and substance usage should be treated as a symptom of male depression. Men with depression present low resilience and low self-efficacy. They also use negative strategies in dealing with stress. Conclusion: There is a need to plan and implement effective prevention actions that will take the conditioning of these groups into account.

Suicide in men

Male life expectancy in Europe is between 5 and 15 years lower than women. This might be related to the fact that men, in general, approach and consume medical services only half as often as females. Between 70 and 90% of all suicides are committed in a clinical condition of major depression, paradoxically, men commit suicide 3–10 times more often than women despite being diagnosed as depressive half as often. Male depressive symptoms are different from those reported by females, mainly because of men’s alexithymic problems in recognizing and reporting their own depressive symptoms. Additionally, male depression can manifest itself more atypically as abusive, aggressive, risk-taking, or antisocial behaviour. Moreover, in the case of suicidal behaviour, males more frequently use violent or lethal methods. Training of healthcare workers to better detect male depression and increasing public awareness for male’s often atypical depression are promising tools in the prevention of suicide.

Coda: Exploring Male Depression and the Stigma Associated with Depression

This creative thesis aims to show depressive symptoms in men, the stigma associated with depression, and the way stigma impacts depressed individuals by means of a screenplay. Using drama as the genre and psychological drama as the sub-genre, I exploit the emotional strain of the main character to show the struggles of male depression as well as the brutal consequences of stigma. The screenplay, titled Coda, follows Arya, a boy who struggles with depression and stigma associated with depression. As the story progresses, Arya’s mental health condition increasingly declines. Arya exhibits depressive symptoms although they are not typically recognized as depression. These include frequent irritability and inappropriate anger, escapists behavior, physical symptoms, problems with drug use, and risky behavior. In addition to that, Arya also experiences personal stigma from his family, which gradually affects their relationship and ultimately leads him to impulsively commit suicide. Keywords: Male depression, stigma, impact