Economic Burden of Depressive Symptoms Conditions among Middle-Aged and Elderly People with Hypertension in China

People with hypertension are more prone to incur depressive symptoms, while depressive symptoms have an obvious influence on the healthy functioning, treatment, and management of hypertensive patients. However, there have been limited studies on the association between depression and the economic burden of hypertension. We used data from the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) to estimate the additional annual direct and indirect economic burden of depressive symptoms among middle-aged and elderly hypertensive patients with a multivariable regression model. The depressive symptoms were associated with substantial additional direct and indirect economic burden. Compared with non-co-MHDS (non-co-morbid hypertension and depressive symptoms) patients, the direct economic burden of lower co-MHDS (co-morbid hypertension and depressive symptoms) patients and higher co-MHDS patients increased 1887.4 CNY and 5508.4 CNY, respectively. For indirect economic burden, the lower co-MHDS patients increased 331.2 CNY and the higher co-MHDS patients increased 636.8 CNY. Both direct and indirect economic burden were incremental with the aggravation of depressive symptoms. The results showed depressive symptoms increased total healthcare costs by increasing the utilization and expenditure of primary healthcare services. Depressive symptoms also led to economic loss of productivity, especially for agricultural workers. This study highlights the importance of mental healthcare for hypertensive patients.