High Prevalence of Depression Diagnosis Among Medical Aid Beneficiaries: A Korean Health Insurance Database Study

Little is known about the prevalence of depression diagnosis in Korea. We aimed to compare the prevalence of depression diagnosis between Medical Aid and health insurance beneficiaries in an outpatient setting in Korea. The data of patients who visited a medical institution for outpatient care in 2015 were extracted from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service National Patient Sample claims database, and those diagnosed with major depressive disorder, single episode (F32) or recurrent (F33), were identified. The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated through logistic regression analyses. Among the outpatients, 2.51% were diagnosed with depression at least once. Medical Aid beneficiaries (aOR = 1.97; 95% CI = 1.96-1.98) were more likely to be diagnosed with depression than health insurance beneficiaries.