Wang Guojun, Hu Mi, Xiao Shui-Yuan, Zhou Liang
Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China.
The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (Guangzhou Huiai Hospital), Guangzhou, China.
BMJ Open. 2017 Oct 6;7(10):e016091. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016091.
To compare loneliness, depressive symptoms and major depressive episodes between empty-nest and not-empty-nest older adults in rural areas of Liuyang city, Hunan, China.
A cross-sectional multi-stage random cluster survey was conducted from November 2011 to April 2012 in Liuyang, China. A total of 839 rural older residents aged 60 or above completed the survey (response rate 97.6%). In line with the definition of empty nest, 25 participants who had no children were excluded from the study, while the remaining 814 elderly adults with at least one child were included for analysis. Loneliness and depressive symptoms in rural elderly parents were assessed using the short-form UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-6) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Major depressive episodes were diagnosed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I).
Significant differences were found between empty-nest and not-empty-nest older adults regarding loneliness (16.19±3.90 vs. 12.87±3.02, Cohen's d=0.97), depressive symptoms (8.50±6.26 vs. 6.92±5.19, Cohen's d=0.28) and the prevalence of major depressive episodes (10.1% vs. 4.6%) (all p<0.05). After controlling for demographic characteristics and physical disease, the differences in loneliness, depressive symptoms and major depressive episodes remained significant. Path analysis showed that loneliness mediated the relationship between empty-nest syndrome and depressive symptoms and major depressive episodes.
Loneliness and depression are more severe among empty-nest than not-empty-nest rural elderly adults. Loneliness was a mediating variable between empty-nest syndrome and depression.
比较中国湖南省浏阳市农村地区空巢与非空巢老年人的孤独感、抑郁症状及重度抑郁发作情况。
2011年11月至2012年4月在中国浏阳进行了一项横断面多阶段随机整群调查。共有839名60岁及以上的农村老年居民完成了调查（应答率97.6%）。根据空巢的定义，25名无子女的参与者被排除在研究之外，其余814名至少有一个孩子的老年人被纳入分析。采用简版加州大学洛杉矶分校孤独量表（ULS-6）和老年抑郁量表（GDS）评估农村老年父母的孤独感和抑郁症状。使用《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第四版结构化临床访谈（SCID-I）诊断重度抑郁发作。
空巢与非空巢老年人在孤独感（16.19±3.90 vs. 12.87±3.02，Cohen's d=0.97）、抑郁症状（8.50±6.26 vs. 6.92±5.19，Cohen's d=0.28）和重度抑郁发作患病率（10.1% vs. 4.6%）方面存在显著差异（均p<0.05）。在控制人口统计学特征和躯体疾病后，孤独感、抑郁症状和重度抑郁发作的差异仍然显著。路径分析表明，孤独感介导了空巢综合征与抑郁症状及重度抑郁发作之间的关系。
农村空巢老年人的孤独感和抑郁程度比非空巢老年人更严重。孤独感是空巢综合征与抑郁之间的中介变量。
