Association of living arrangements with depressive symptoms among older adults in China: a cross-sectional study

BMC Public Health

Xin Wang¹  Yixiang Huang¹  Paiyi Zhu¹  Yong Zhang¹  Lingling Zhang²  Zifeng Liu³ 

[1] Department of Health Policy & Management, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University;Department of Nursing, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts;Department of Pathology, the 3rd Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat University;

关键词: Depressive symptoms;    Living arrangements;    Older adults;    Elderly;    CHARLS;    China;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-019-7350-8

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Background Depression is regarded as a major public health concern in our society. While living arrangements as a structural factor of social support may contribute to older adults’ depression. Our study aims to investigate the association between living arrangements and depressive symptoms among older adults in the whole China, and to explore whether such influences differ by genders. Methods Data were obtained from the 2015 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. The sample was comprised of 6001 individuals aged ≥60 years. Depressive symptoms were measured by the 10-item Short-Form Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression. Independent variables were divided into 4 groups, considering living with/without a spouse and living with/without a child. The multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the relationship between living arrangements and depressive symptoms in four models. Results Compared with living only with a spouse, people living with a spouse and child, or living alone were more likely to have depressive symptoms (odds ratio = 1.23 95% CI 1.06–1.42 and 1.40 95% CI 1.03–1.92, respectively). Women were more associated with depressive symptoms (odds ratio = 2.13), but there were no significant associations between living arrangements and depressive symptoms among women. Men living with a spouse and a child had stronger positively depressive symptoms (odds ratio = 1.37). Conclusions Older adults living alone, or living with both a child and spouse were more likely to have depressive symptoms. It is important to provide more social services for those older adult, particularly for men living with a spouse and child.

【 授权许可】

Unknown