The survey said that seniors eating alone are more likely than those who eat with family members to show depressive symptoms. (image: Public Domain)
SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — A quarter of senior citizens in South Korea eat their meals alone, partly contributing to growing depression among the elderly, a survey showed Tuesday.
According to the survey conducted by a team of medical doctors at Sungkyunkwan University, 1,202 out of 4,959 people aged over 65 said they had dined alone at least once a day without family members over the past year.
The survey was released in a study published in a journal by the Korean Academy of Family Medicine.
Noticeably, 33.5 percent of elderly women said they eat meals alone, much higher than 13.1 percent of male respondents, the latest findings showed.
It said that seniors eating alone are more likely than those who eat with family members to show depressive symptoms.
The risk of depression among seniors eating at least one meal a day with their families fell 20 percent compared with those eating alone, the study showed. The risk of those eating with their families two and three times a day fell between 25 and 30 percent and between 27 and 28 percent, respectively.
The report then showed that there is a correlation between dining alone and suicide attempts among aging people, with those eating alone being 33 percent more likely to take drastic steps.
(Yonhap)
