Clinical Nursing Teaching and Research Section, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China.
Department of Psychiatry, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
BMC Psychiatry. 2023 Feb 15;23(1):107. doi: 10.1186/s12888-023-04583-5.
Older adults' psychological health is a public health issue that cannot be ignored, especially when these psychological health problems and related factors change across different social backgrounds because of rapid changes in traditions and family structures and the epidemic responses after the outbreak of COVID-19 in China. The aim of our study is to determine the prevalence of anxiety and depression and their associated factors among community-dwelling older adults in China.
A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to May 2021 with 1173 participants aged 65 years or above from three communities in Hunan Province, China who were selected using convenience sampling. A structured questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics, clinical characteristics, the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), the 7-Item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Item (PHQ-9) was used to collect relevant demographic and clinical data and to measure social support status, anxiety symptoms, and depressive symptoms, respectively. Bivariate analyses were conducted to explore the difference in anxiety and depression based on samples' different characteristics. The multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to test for significant predictors of anxiety and depression.
The prevalence of anxiety and depression were 32.74% and 37.34%, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that being female, being unemployed before retirement age, lacking physical activity, having physical pain, and having three or more comorbidities were significant predictors for anxiety. Subjective social support and support utilization were significant protective factors. Regarding depression, religion, lacking physical activity, having physical pain, having three or more comorbidities were found to be significant predictors. Support utilization was a significant protective factor.
The study group showed a high prevalence of anxiety and depression. Gender, employment status, physical activity, physical pain, comorbidities, and social support were associated with psychological health problems of older adults. These findings suggest that governments should focus on the psychological health problems of older adults by raising community awareness of issues related to older adults' psychological health. They should also screen for anxiety and depression among high-risk groups and encourage individuals to seek supportive counseling.
老年人的心理健康是一个不容忽视的公共卫生问题，尤其是在中国，由于传统和家庭结构的迅速变化以及 COVID-19 爆发后的疫情应对，这些心理健康问题及其相关因素在不同的社会背景下发生了变化。我们的研究旨在确定中国社区老年人焦虑和抑郁的患病率及其相关因素。
2021 年 3 月至 5 月，采用方便抽样法从中国湖南省三个社区选取 1173 名 65 岁及以上的参与者进行横断面研究。使用结构问卷收集相关人口统计学和临床特征、社会支持评定量表（SSRS）、7 项广泛性焦虑障碍量表（GAD-7）和患者健康问卷-9 项（PHQ-9），分别评估社会支持状况、焦虑症状和抑郁症状。采用单因素分析比较不同样本特征的焦虑和抑郁差异，多因素 logistic 回归分析焦虑和抑郁的显著预测因素。
焦虑和抑郁的患病率分别为 32.74%和 37.34%。多因素 logistic 回归分析显示，女性、退休前失业、缺乏体力活动、有身体疼痛和患有三种或更多种合并症是焦虑的显著预测因素。主观社会支持和支持利用是显著的保护因素。对于抑郁，宗教、缺乏体力活动、有身体疼痛、患有三种或更多种合并症是显著的预测因素。支持利用是一个显著的保护因素。
研究组焦虑和抑郁的患病率较高。性别、就业状况、体力活动、身体疼痛、合并症和社会支持与老年人的心理健康问题有关。这些发现表明，政府应通过提高社区对老年人心理健康问题的认识，关注老年人的心理健康问题。他们还应针对高风险人群进行焦虑和抑郁筛查，并鼓励个人寻求支持性咨询。
