{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T13:48:40Z","timestamp":1789652920228,"version":"4.0.0"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,21]],"date-time":"2025-08-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1755734400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Soonchunhyang University Research Fund"},{"name":"the Ministry of Environment"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Toxics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Asbestos-related diseases (ARDs), including malignant mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, and asbestosis, are known for their long latency periods and poor prognoses. Although the physical effects of ARDs have been widely studied, limited research has examined the psychological burden faced by affected individuals. This study investigated depressive and anxiety symptoms among 275 patients officially recognized as asbestos victims in Korea. Mental health was assessed using the Korean version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The analysis revealed that the mean \u00b1 standard deviation of depression and anxiety levels among patients with asbestos-related diseases were 8.06 \u00b1 6.27 for PHQ-9, 6.02 \u00b1 5.64 for GAD-7, 7.09 \u00b1 5.44 for HADS-A, and 8.41 \u00b1 5.47 for HADS-D. Patients with asbestosis had higher levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms than those with malignant mesothelioma or lung cancer, with symptom severity increasing alongside asbestosis grade. When compared with national data from the 2020\u20132021 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores among ARD patients, particularly those with Grade 1 asbestosis, were higher than the scores reported for all major cancer types. These findings highlight the substantial psychological distress experienced by individuals with ARDs and emphasize the urgent need for targeted mental health interventions in this population.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/toxics13080703","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,21]],"date-time":"2025-08-21T15:19:02Z","timestamp":1755789542000},"page":"703","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms Among Patients with Asbestos-Related Diseases in Korea"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Min-Sung","family":"Kang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Asbestos Environmental Health Center, Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital, Soonchunhyang 6-gil 31, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan 31151, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Division of Medical Science, Soonchunhyang University, 22, Soonchunhyang-ro, Sinchang-myeon, Asan 31538, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mee-Ri","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Soonchunhyang 6-gil 31, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan 31151, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8447-8372","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Young","family":"Hwangbo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Soonchunhyang 6-gil 31, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan 31151, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Huh, D.-A., Chae, W.-R., Choi, Y.-H., Kang, M.-S., Lee, Y.-J., and Moon, K.-W. 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