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. 2023 Feb 15;23(1):107.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-023-04583-5.

Prevalence and factors associated with anxiety and depression among community-dwelling older adults in Hunan, China: a cross-sectional study

Lulu Lu  1   2   3 , Hongxian Shen  2   3 , Liwen Tan  2   3 , Qiuping Huang  4 , Qiongni Chen  1 , Mining Liang  1   2   3 , Li He  5   6   7 , Yang Zhou  8
Affiliations

Prevalence and factors associated with anxiety and depression among community-dwelling older adults in Hunan, China: a cross-sectional study

Lulu Lu et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Older adults' psychological health is a public health issue that cannot be ignored, especially when these psychological health problems and related factors change across different social backgrounds because of rapid changes in traditions and family structures and the epidemic responses after the outbreak of COVID-19 in China. The aim of our study is to determine the prevalence of anxiety and depression and their associated factors among community-dwelling older adults in China.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to May 2021 with 1173 participants aged 65 years or above from three communities in Hunan Province, China who were selected using convenience sampling. A structured questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics, clinical characteristics, the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), the 7-Item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Item (PHQ-9) was used to collect relevant demographic and clinical data and to measure social support status, anxiety symptoms, and depressive symptoms, respectively. Bivariate analyses were conducted to explore the difference in anxiety and depression based on samples' different characteristics. The multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to test for significant predictors of anxiety and depression.

Results: The prevalence of anxiety and depression were 32.74% and 37.34%, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that being female, being unemployed before retirement age, lacking physical activity, having physical pain, and having three or more comorbidities were significant predictors for anxiety. Subjective social support and support utilization were significant protective factors. Regarding depression, religion, lacking physical activity, having physical pain, having three or more comorbidities were found to be significant predictors. Support utilization was a significant protective factor.

Conclusions: The study group showed a high prevalence of anxiety and depression. Gender, employment status, physical activity, physical pain, comorbidities, and social support were associated with psychological health problems of older adults. These findings suggest that governments should focus on the psychological health problems of older adults by raising community awareness of issues related to older adults' psychological health. They should also screen for anxiety and depression among high-risk groups and encourage individuals to seek supportive counseling.

Keywords: Anxiety; Community; Depression; Older adults; Risk factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The sampling framework of this study
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Psychological health problems among the studied group (N = 1173). Free, the group having neither anxiety nor depression; anxiety, the group having anxiety; depression, the group having depression; mixed anxiety and depression, the group having both anxiety and depression
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Rates of different severity levels of anxiety and depression (N = 1173). Absent, GAD and PHQ scores of 0–4; present, GAD and PHQ scores of 5 and above; mild, GAD and PHQ scores of 5–9; moderate, GAD and PHQ scores of 10–14; severe, GAD and PHQ scores of 15 and above
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Percentages of older adults endorsing specific GAD and PHQ symptoms (N = 1173)
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