Wang Xinyu, Ke Qing, Leng Pengqun, Liu Dan, Zeng Wen
Nursing School of Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, China.
Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital, Guiyang, Guizhou, China.
Front Psychol. 2025 Jun 27;16:1573260. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1573260. eCollection 2025.
Subjective well-being (SWB) in older adults is a key indicator of psychological health and quality of life. However, research on trajectories of SWB is quite limited, and little is known about the relationship between anxiety/depression and trajectories of SWB in older adults. This study aimed to identify the trajectories of SWB in older adults and examine the association between anxiety/depression and trajectories of SWB.
A population-based cohort study, the National Health and Aging Trends Study in the United States from 2015 to 2022. SWB was assessed through 11 items, including positive/negative emotions (4 items), self-realization (4 items), self-efficacy, and resilience (3 items). Anxiety/depression symptoms were assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4). The group-based trajectory modeling identified trajectories. The design-based weighted multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the association between anxiety/depression and SWB trajectories.
Of 5,057 included older adults, 59.22% were aged between 60 and 74 years old, 55.5% were female, and 82.23% were non-Hispanic White. Four trajectories of SWB were identified: Group 1 (, 8.7%), Group 2 (, 25.4%), Group 3 (, 42.2%), and Group 4 (, 23.7%). Higher anxiety/depression scores were associated with low or moderate SWB trajectories: Group 1 (odds ratio, OR: 3.35, 95% confidence interval, CI: 2.73, 4.00), Group 2 (OR: 2.59, 95% CI: 2.20, 3.00), and Group 3 (OR: 1.80, 95% CI: 1.49, 2.18).
The trajectories of SWB varied among older adults. Anxiety/depression was significantly associated with SWB trajectories. Evidence-based effective strategies for the management of anxiety/depression are needed to maintain SWB at a high level in older adults.
WHAT DOES THIS PAPER CONTRIBUTE TO THE BROADER GLOBAL CLINICAL COMMUNITY?: •This study identifies four distinct trajectories of subjective well-being in older adults.•Anxiety/depression is significantly associated with subjective well-being trajectories.•Our study highlights the importance of screening and longitudinally tracking SWB in older adults.•Effective prevention and intervention of anxiety/depression is a high priority to maintain or improve SWB in older adults.
老年人的主观幸福感（SWB）是心理健康和生活质量的关键指标。然而，关于主观幸福感轨迹的研究相当有限，对于老年人焦虑/抑郁与主观幸福感轨迹之间的关系知之甚少。本研究旨在确定老年人主观幸福感的轨迹，并探讨焦虑/抑郁与主观幸福感轨迹之间的关联。
一项基于人群的队列研究，即2015年至2022年美国国家健康与老龄化趋势研究。主观幸福感通过11个项目进行评估，包括积极/消极情绪（4个项目）、自我实现（4个项目）、自我效能感和心理韧性（3个项目）。焦虑/抑郁症状通过患者健康问卷-4（PHQ-4）进行评估。基于群体的轨迹模型确定轨迹。基于设计的加权多项逻辑回归用于检验焦虑/抑郁与主观幸福感轨迹之间的关联。
在纳入的5057名老年人中，59.22%的年龄在60至74岁之间，55.5%为女性，82.23%为非西班牙裔白人。确定了主观幸福感的四种轨迹：第1组（，8.7%）、第2组（，25.4%）、第3组（，42.2%）和第4组（，23.7%）。较高的焦虑/抑郁得分与低或中度主观幸福感轨迹相关：第1组（优势比，OR：3.35，95%置信区间，CI：2.73，4.00）、第2组（OR：2.59，95%CI：2.20，3.00）和第3组（OR：1.80，95%CI：1.49，2.18）。
老年人的主观幸福感轨迹各不相同。焦虑/抑郁与主观幸福感轨迹显著相关。需要基于证据的有效焦虑/抑郁管理策略，以维持老年人的高水平主观幸福感。
本文对更广泛的全球临床社区有何贡献？：•本研究确定了老年人主观幸福感的四种不同轨迹。•焦虑/抑郁与主观幸福感轨迹显著相关。•我们的研究强调了对老年人主观幸福感进行筛查和纵向跟踪的重要性。•有效预防和干预焦虑/抑郁是维持或改善老年人主观幸福感的当务之急。
