Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.
Front Public Health. 2022 Feb 9;10:781771. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.781771. eCollection 2022.
We aimed to examine the association between social participation and depressive symptoms among Chinese older people aged 65 years or above to supplement limited studies in China on this topic.
This community-based longitudinal prospective cohort study used the data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS, baseline in 2014 and a follow-up in 2018). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Social participation was assessed using a composite index by considering the frequency for the two types of social activity: organized social activities and informal activities. Pearson's χ test was used to correlate the characteristics of participants with social participation or depressive symptoms. Log-binomial regression models were used to assess the association between social participation and the risk of depressive symptoms.
The incidence of depressive symptoms was 28.8% among 2,200 participants in 2018 after a 4-year follow-up. Participants with no social participation (32.6%), organized social activities (30.6%), or informal social activities (31.2%) were more likely to have depressive symptoms. After the adjustment of demographic factors, socioeconomic status, lifestyle habits, and health status, in comparison with older people who often engaged in social participation, organized social activities, and informal social activities, the risk of depressive symptoms was 45% [adjusted risk ratio (aRR): 1.45, 95% CI: 1.16-1.82], 42% (aRR: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.02-2.00), and 29% (aRR: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.02-1.99) higher among older people with no social participation and who never engaged in organized social activities and informal social activities, respectively.
This study showed that the lack of social participation, including organized social activities and informal social activities, was associated with a higher risk of depressive symptoms after 4 years among older adults in China. Our findings shed lights into the feasibility of promoting social participation to reduce the risk of depressive symptoms and promote longevity and healthy aging among older adults.
本研究旨在探讨中国 65 岁及以上老年人的社会参与与抑郁症状之间的关系，以补充该主题在中国有限的研究。
本研究采用基于社区的纵向前瞻性队列研究，使用中国长寿纵向研究（CLHLS，2014 年基线和 2018 年随访）的数据。使用 10 项中心流行病学研究抑郁量表评估抑郁症状。社会参与度通过考虑两种社会活动的频率（有组织的社会活动和非正式活动）的综合指数来评估。采用 Pearson χ 检验将参与者的特征与社会参与或抑郁症状相关联。使用对数二项式回归模型评估社会参与与抑郁症状风险之间的关联。
在 2018 年的 4 年随访后，2200 名参与者中抑郁症状的发生率为 28.8%。没有社会参与（32.6%）、有组织的社会活动（30.6%）或非正式社会活动（31.2%）的参与者更有可能出现抑郁症状。在调整人口统计学因素、社会经济地位、生活方式习惯和健康状况后，与经常参与社会参与、有组织的社会活动和非正式社会活动的老年人相比，无社会参与、从不参与有组织的社会活动和非正式社会活动的老年人患抑郁症状的风险分别增加 45%（调整后的风险比[aRR]：1.45，95%CI：1.16-1.82）、42%（aRR：1.45，95%CI：1.02-2.00）和 29%（aRR：1.29，95%CI：1.02-1.99）。
本研究表明，缺乏社会参与，包括有组织的社会活动和非正式社会活动，与中国老年人 4 年后抑郁症状的风险增加有关。我们的研究结果为促进社会参与以降低老年人抑郁症状风险、促进长寿和健康老龄化提供了可行性依据。
