Socio-demographic characteristics and co-occurrence of depressive symptoms with chronic diseases among older adults in China: the China longitudinal ageing social survey

BACKGROUND: The aim of the current study is to assess the cross-sectional association of chronic non-communicable diseases (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, arthritis, and cerebrovascular) with depressive symptoms among older adults in China. METHODS: Data was obtained from the China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey (CLASS) conducted in 2014. A total of 7505 participants were included. Depressive symptoms status was assessed by 9-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) Associations between depressive symptoms and chronic diseases, adjusting for so, demographics and chronic diseases risk factors were assessed by using logistic regression model. RESULTS: We found negative associations between depressive symptoms and several socioeconomic factors, including education attainment and economic level. Widowed/divorced/ unmarried individuals are more likely to suffer from depressive symptoms. Hypertension (Odds ratio:1.29 [95%CI:1.16, 1.42]), diabetes (1.41 [95%CI:1.19,1.67]), arthritis (1.72 [1.52, 1.96]), and cerebrovascular disease (1.69 [1.41, 2.02]) were found to be associated with depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Most depressive symptoms cases were found to be significantly associated with chronic diseases. Our findings have provided evidence for understanding co-morbid depressive symptoms with chronic diseases, which could help clinicians to evaluate, diagnose and manage depression promptly.