Prospective association between depressive symptoms and hip fracture and fall among middle-aged and older Chinese individuals

BACKGROUND: The effect of depressive symptoms on hip fracture (HF) and falls among the Chinese population is unclear. This study aims to examine the prospective association between depressive symptoms and HF as well as fall accidents in a nationally representative Chinese population. METHODS: We used data from 10,596 participants in the Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (from 2011 to 2018) who were aged ≥45 years and had no HFs at baseline. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 10-item version of the Center for Epidemiological Studied Depression scale (cutoff for distinguishing high versus low at ≥12). Logistic regression analyses adjusted for demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors and physical comorbidities were performed. RESULTS: For the analysis of baseline depressive symptoms and HF, 399 (3.8%) participants reported HF accidents in the following 7-year period. Individuals with elevated depressive symptoms at baseline experienced a markedly higher HF risk (odds ratio [OR] = 1.33, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.06–1.67) than those without elevated depressive symptoms, after adjusting for a wide range of potential confounders. For the analysis of baseline depressive symptoms and falls, 3974 (37.5%) experienced fall accidents during the follow-up. The presence of elevated depressive symptoms was independently associated with an increased risk of fall events (OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.10–1.33). These associations were consistent across multiple characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, elevated depressive symptoms were associated with an increased risk of HF and falls, which may have considerable clinical and preventive implications. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12888-022-03906-2.