College of Education for the Future, Beijing Normal University, China.
Unit of Psychiatry, Department of Public Health and Medicinal Administration, & Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR, China.
Int J Biol Sci. 2022 Jun 6;18(10):3934-3941. doi: 10.7150/ijbs.69460. eCollection 2022.
The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak had a detrimental impact on the mental health of older adults. This study evaluated the central symptoms and their associations in the network of depressive symptoms and compared the network structure differences between male and female older adults in Hong Kong. Altogether, 3,946 older adults participated in this study. We evaluated the centrality indicators for network robustness using stability and accuracy tests, and examined the potential differences between the structure and connectivity of depression networks in male and female older adults. The overall prevalence of depressive symptoms was 43.7% (95% CI=40.6-46.7%) in males, and 54.8% (95% CI=53.1-56.5%) in females (P<0.05). Sad Mood, Guilt, Motor problems and Lack of Energy were influential symptoms in the network model. Gender differences were found in the network global strength, especially in the following edges: Sad Mood--Guilt, Concentration--Guilt, Anhedonia--Motor, Lack of Energy--Suicide, Appetite--Suicide and Concentration--Suicide. Central symptoms in the depressive symptom network among male and female older adults may be prioritized in the treatment and prevention of depression during the pandemic.
2019 年新型冠状病毒病（COVID-19）疫情对老年人的心理健康产生了不利影响。本研究评估了抑郁症状网络中的核心症状及其关联，并比较了香港老年男性和女性抑郁网络结构的差异。共有 3946 名老年人参与了这项研究。我们使用稳定性和准确性测试评估了网络稳健性的中心性指标，并检查了男性和女性老年人群体抑郁网络结构和连通性的潜在差异。男性的抑郁症状总患病率为 43.7%（95%CI=40.6-46.7%），女性为 54.8%（95%CI=53.1-56.5%）（P<0.05）。在网络模型中，悲伤情绪、内疚、运动问题和精力不足是有影响力的症状。在网络全局强度方面发现了性别差异，特别是在以下边缘：悲伤情绪-内疚、注意力-内疚、快感缺失-运动、精力不足-自杀、食欲-自杀和注意力-自杀。在大流行期间，男性和女性老年人群体的抑郁症状网络中的核心症状可能需要优先考虑治疗和预防抑郁。
