Analysis of the relationship between social activities and depressive symptoms in the elderly based on a cross-lagged model
10.3760/cma.j.cn113661-20240124-00038
- VernacularTitle:基于交叉滞后模型的老年人社交活跃度与抑郁症状关系分析
- Author:
Yating HOU
1
;
Limei JIANG
;
Zhenjie SUN
;
Junwei SUN
;
Fuxin YAO
;
Fude YANG
;
Binhong WANG
;
Long NA
Author Information
1. 太原市精神病医院医务科，太原 030045
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
The elderly;
Social activity;
Depressive;
Longitudinal study;
Cross-lagged analysis
- From:
Chinese Journal of Psychiatry
2024;57(10):646-652
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To explore the causal relationship between social activity and depressive symptoms in the elderly, and to provide a reference for preventing and interventing depressive symptoms in the elderly.Methods:Data were sourced from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) program, involving 3 164 elderly individuals aged≥60 years with data collected in two measurements, in 2015 (T1) and 2018 (T2). The sample included 1 240 males and 1 924 females aged (71±7) years. Social activities were assessed by constructing a social activity index from the 11 social activities included in the CHARLS questionnaire and the frequency of their activities. The depressive symptoms were assessed using the short version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, CESD-10). A mixed-design ANOVA was used to explore the trends in social activity and depressive symptoms over time and across genders in the elderly adults. Pearson correlation analysis was used to investigate whether social activity and depressive symptoms in the elderly met the criteria for simultaneous and sequential correlations, followed by a cross-lagged model to analyze the causal temporal or mutual prediction between social activeness and depressive symptoms over a 3-year intervals.Results:The social activity of elderly men at T2 was significantly lower than at T1 ( F=21.00, P<0.001), while no significant difference observed in elderly women ( F=0.31, P<0.001). At both T1 and T2, elderly men scored higher in social activity than elderly women [T1: 2.93±2.98 vs 2.55±2.65,T2: 2.28±2.49 vs 2.24±2.43); F=43.60, 11.24, both P<0.01]. Depressive symptoms at T2 were higher than at T1 for both elderly men and elderly women ((male: 1.90±6.10 vs 21.52±6.08, female: 23.84±6.54 vs 23.07±6.44); F=5.20, 32.77, both P<0.05). Elderly men scored lower than elderly women on depression symptoms at both T1 and T2 (T1: F=45.74, P<0.001; T2: F=69.96, P<0.001). Pearson correlation analysis showed a negative correlation between social activity and depressive symptoms at both measurement points (T1: r=-0.329, P<0.01; T2: r=-0.343, P<0.01), and a positive correlation across T1 and T2 ( r=0.391, 0.573; both P<0.01), meeting the criteria for simultaneous and sequential correlations, and supporting the basic assumptions of cross-lagged design. Cross-lagged analysis revealed that T1 social activity negatively predicted T2 depressive symptoms (β=-0.128, P<0.001), and T1 depressive symptoms negatively predicted T2 social activity (β=-0.202, P<0.001). Conclusion:There is a bidirectional predictive relationship between social activity and depression symptoms in the elderly. Depression symptoms lead to a decrease in social activity, and a decrease in social activity predicts an exacerbation of depression in the elderly.
