Living arrangements and depression of the older adults– evidence from the Chinese longitudinal healthy longevity survey

BACKGROUND: The mental health and living arrangements of older adults are worthy of attention. Previous studies have pointed out that the living arrangements may be related to older adults’ depression. However, it has not been found that studies concern the relationship between actual living arrangements, living arrangement preferences, and the fit between living arrangement preferences and reality and depression in older adults, so we carried out this study. METHODS: The data from the Chinese longitudinal healthy longevity survey were used in this study. With the older adults’ depression as the dependent variable and the living arrangement related variables as the independent variable, we constructed three binary-logistic regression analysis models to explore the potential relationship between living arrangement related variables and depression in older adults. RESULTS: We found that the actual living arrangements, living arrangement preferences, and the fit between living arrangement preferences and reality are significantly correlated with depression in older adults. Specifically, older adults living alone or only with the spouse are at greater risk of depression. Older adults who prefer living alone or only with the spouse are at relatively low risk of depression. Older adults whose living arrangement preferences do not match reality have a higher risk of depression. CONCLUSION: The living arrangement related variables are significantly correlated with depression in older adults. In addition to the actual living arrangements, living arrangement preferences and whether the living arrangement preferences fit with reality are also related to the depression of older adults. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-023-16730-4.