Association of anxiety, depression, and somatization with menstrual problems among North Korean women defectors in South Korea
Authors
Kim, Hyun Kyoung
Kim, Hee Sook
Kim, Seog Ju
Issue Date
2017-11-07
Type
Article
Language
en_US
Keywords
Anxiety , Depression , Menstruation , North Korean Defector , Somatization
Alternative Title
Abstract
Objective:
North Korean women defectors have suffered from anxiety, depression, and somatization after defection. Also they have had many menstrual problems like amenorrhea. This study was done to identify the correlations of anxiety, depression, and somatization to menstrual problems among North Korean woman defectors in South Korea.
Methods:
The participants in this study were 126 women from 5 government resettlement centers throughout South Korea. Questionnaires which included State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Center for Epidemiological studies-Depression Scale (CED-S), and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) were used to identify anxiety and somatization. Data were collected between June and September, 2012.
Results:
The women reported the following problems; amenorrhea (9.5%), hypomenorrhea (13.6%), menorrhagia (19.8%), polymenorrhea (13.5%), oligomenorrhea (4.8%), changes in amount of menstrual discharge (4.0%), and changes in amount of blood clot (9.5%). Anxiety (r=0.20, p=0.002), depression (r=0.25, p=0.005), and Somatization (r=0.35, p<0.001) were correlated with number of menstrual problems.
Conclusion:
The results of this study indicate that mental health services need to be taken into account in interventions for North Korean woman defectors to improve their reproductive health including addressing menstrual problems.
Description
Citation
Kim, H. K., Kim, H. S., & Kim, S. J. (2017). Association of Anxiety, Depression, and Somatization with Menstrual Problems among North Korean Women Defectors in South Korea. Psychiatry investigation, 14(6), 727–733. https://doi.org/10.4306/pi.2017.14.6.727
Publisher
Psychiatry Investigation