The relationship between depressive symptoms and activity of daily living disability among the elderly: results from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS)

Aug 8, 2021Public health

How depression relates to daily living difficulties in older adults in China

AI simplified

Longevity & Aging on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Abstract

34.1% of elderly individuals in a sample of 5863 showed depressive symptoms.

The mean score for activity of daily living (ADL) was significantly higher in elderly individuals with depressive symptoms compared to those without.
Elderly individuals with depressive symptoms had a mean ADL score of 20.65, while those without had a mean score of 17.40.
Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated an association between depressive symptoms and ADL disability across various domains, including personal care and managing money.
The findings suggest that addressing ADL disability could be beneficial for elderly individuals experiencing depressive symptoms.

AI simplified

OBJECTIVE: The acceleration of population aging has brought an unprecedented impact on China's health system. This study is designed to examine the association between depressive symptoms and activity of daily living disability among the elderly in China.

STUDY DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional study.

METHODS: Data were drawn from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). The 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale was used to access depressive symptoms, and physical function was assessed by the Activity of Daily Living (ADL) scale. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the association between depressive symptoms and ADL among the elderly.

RESULTS: Based on a sample of 5863 elderly people over 60 years old, our results showed that 1999 elderly people are with depressive symptoms, accounting for 34.1%. The mean score of ADL among the elderly with depressive symptoms (20.65 ± 7.14) was much higher than that in those without depressive symptoms (17.40 ± 4.87). After controlling potential confounders, multivariate logistic regression showed that ADL and its specific domains including personal care, transfer, medical care, household, and managing money were associated with depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSION: This cross-sectional study provides evidence of the association between depressive symptoms and ADL disability among the Chinese elderly. As a result, prevention or reduction of ADL disability may have a positive effect on the medical care of the elderly with depressive symptoms.

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View full text (XML) ↗View full text ↗

The relationship between depressive symptoms and activity of daily living disability among the elderly: results from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS)

Abstract

Full Text

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the longevity & aging brief

Abstract

Full Text

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the longevity & aging brief