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Loneliness and depression among rural empty-nest elderly adults in Liuyang, China: a cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:To compare loneliness, depressive symptoms and major depressive episodes between empty-nest and not-empty-nest older adults in rural areas of Liuyang city, Hunan, China. METHODS:A cross-sectional multi-stage random cluster survey was conducted from November 2011 to April 2012 in Liuyang, China. A total of 839 rural older residents aged 60 or above completed the survey (response rate 97.6%). In line with the definition of empty nest, 25 participants who had no children were excluded from the study, while the remaining 814 elderly adults with at least one child were included for analysis. Loneliness and depressive symptoms in rural elderly parents were assessed using the short-form UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-6) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). Major depressive episodes were diagnosed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I). RESULTS:Significant differences were found between empty-nest and not-empty-nest older adults regarding loneliness (16.19±3.90?vs. 12.87±3.02, Cohen's d=0.97), depressive symptoms (8.50±6.26?vs. 6.92±5.19, Cohen's d=0.28) and the prevalence of major depressive episodes (10.1% vs. 4.6%) (all p<0.05). After controlling for demographic characteristics and physical disease, the differences in loneliness, depressive symptoms and major depressive episodes remained significant. Path analysis showed that loneliness mediated the relationship between empty-nest syndrome and depressive symptoms and major depressive episodes. CONCLUSION:Loneliness and depression are more severe among empty-nest than not-empty-nest rural elderly adults. Loneliness was a mediating variable between empty-nest syndrome and depression.

SUBMITTER: Wang G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5639988 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Loneliness and depression among rural empty-nest elderly adults in Liuyang, China: a cross-sectional study.

Wang Guojun G Hu Mi M Xiao Shui-Yuan SY Zhou Liang L

BMJ open 20171006 10

<h4>Objective</h4>To compare loneliness, depressive symptoms and major depressive episodes between empty-nest and not-empty-nest older adults in rural areas of Liuyang city, Hunan, China.<h4>Methods</h4>A cross-sectional multi-stage random cluster survey was conducted from November 2011 to April 2012 in Liuyang, China. A total of 839 rural older residents aged 60 or above completed the survey (response rate 97.6%). In line with the definition of empty nest, 25 participants who had no children we ...[more]

PMID: 28988166

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Project description:BackgroundPrevious studies have indicated that older adults with multimorbidity had higher risk of incurring catastrophic health expenditure (CHE). However, the effect of co-occurrence of frailty on CHE among single empty-nest elderly with multimorbidity remains unclear. This study aims to explore the effect of co-occurrence of frailty on CHE among single empty-nest elderly with multimorbidity, and whether this effect is moderated by economic status.MethodsA cross-sectional household survey of the older adults in 2019 in Shandong province, China. A total of 606 single empty-nest elderly aged 60?years or older were included in this study. CHE was defined as the out-of-pocket payments for health care that equals or exceeds 40% of the household' s capacity to pay. Logistic regression models are employed to examine the effect of co-occurrence of frailty on CHE among single empty-nest elderly with multimorbidity. The interaction term is introduced to explore the economic status difference in this effect.ResultsThe CHE incidence for single empty-nest elderly with multimorbidity alone is 64.2%, and the co-occurrence of frailty results in an increase by almost 1.3 times (84.0%) in CHE incidence among single empty-nest elderly with multimorbidity. The co-occurrence of frailty increases the risk of incurring CHE among the single empty-nest elderly with multimorbidity, with the odds of incurring CHE increased by 3.19 times (OR?=?3.19; P?=?0.005). Furthermore, the interaction analysis shows that the effect of co-occurrence of frailty on CHE among single empty-nest elderly with multimorbidity still exist in lower economic status groups (OR?=?4.64; P?=?0.027), but not in higher economic status (OR?=?2.76; P?=?0.062).ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that there is a positive effect of co-occurrence of frailty on the CHE among the single empty-nest elderly with multimorbidity, and this effect varies by economic status. The health policy-makers should reorganize the healthcare system to make it pro-poor, so as to meet the multiple medical demand and reduce the potential economic burden and inequalities of older adults.

Dataset Information

Loneliness and depression among rural empty-nest elderly adults in Liuyang, China: a cross-sectional study.

Publications

Loneliness and depression among rural empty-nest elderly adults in Liuyang, China: a cross-sectional study.

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