To determine gender difference in the nature of the association between alcohol consumption and depressive symptoms in the elderly aged 60 and above in a rural community sample. A cross-sectional face-to-face survey conducted for community residents 60 years of age and older (n = 1,819). Alcohol consumption problems were measured by self-report of the Korean version of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-K) scale. Depressive symptom was measured using the Korean Beck Depression Inventory (K-BDI) scale. Potential explanatory variables included MCS, PCS, and health-related behavior, socio-economics status, and democratic variables. Two gender-specific multivariate regression models were applied for the analysis. A U-shaped relationship between alcohol consumption and depressive symptoms was found, and the relationship did not differ by gender. Non-problem drinkers and hazardous and harmful drinkers were related to an increased risk of depressive symptoms for both men and women. Several correlates for the association were found. No gender difference was found in a U-shaped curvilinear relationship between alcohol consumption and depression found among the elderly aged 60 and above in rural communities in South Korea. The findings of this study suggest the need for further investigation of subgroup differences in the association by using samples of various age groups in rural and urban areas, and samples drawn from different cultural contexts than the studies conducted in Western countries.
Keywords: Gender; U-Shaped relationship; alcohol consumption; depressive symptoms; the elderly.