Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-21T23:42:19.809Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Depression and related factors in older people in China: a systematic review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2011

Yu Chen ,
Allan Hicks  and
Alison E. While
Yu Chen
Affiliation:
Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, King's College London, UK
Allan Hicks
Affiliation:
Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, King's College London, UK
Alison E. While*
Affiliation:
Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, King's College London, UK
*
Address for correspondence: Alison While, 57 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8WA, UK. Email: alison.while@kcl.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

China has an increasing ageing population. Depression, as one of the most common problems in older people, is a concern that merits attention. This paper reviewed published studies of the prevalence of depression and its related factors in older people in China. Seventeen papers were identified by searching the following electronic databases: Web of Science, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL, China Academic Journal and VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals. Whilst prevalence varied across studies, health status, social support, financial status, living arrangements and some demographic factors were consistently related to older people's depression. Further well-designed studies are needed to explore depression in older people in China to identify more culture-specific contributors to maximize well-being.

Keywords

older peopledepressionChina
Type
Neuropsychiatry of old age
Information
Reviews in Clinical Gerontology , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , February 2012 , pp. 52 - 67
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1National Bureau of Statistics of China. Major Figures of the 2010 National Population Census. Available at: http://www.stats.gov.cn/ (accessed 15 May 2011).Google Scholar
2Cao, XC, Xiang, PP, Dong, HZ. The Intervention Report about Gross National Happiness Index of Tangshan's Elderly People 2008. J Hebei Polytechnic Univ 2010; 10: 33–36.Google Scholar
3World Health Organization. World Health Report. WHO: Geneva, 2004.Google Scholar
4Geerlings, SW, Beekman, ATF, Deeg, DJH. The longitudinal effect of depression on functional limitations and disability in older adults: an eight-wave prospective community-based study. Psychol Med 2001; 31: 1361–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5Fassino, S, Leombruni, P, Daga, GA. Quality of life in dependent older adults living at home. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 2002; 35: 9–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6Unutzer, J, Patrick, DL, Simon, G. Depressive symptoms and the cost of health services in HMO patients aged 65 years and older: a 4-year prospective study. JAMA 1997; 277: 1618–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7Serby, M, Yu, M. Overview: depression in the elderly. Mt Sinai J Med 2003; 1: 38–44.Google Scholar
8Moussavi, S, Chatterji, S, Verdes, E, Tandon, A, Patel, V, Ustun, B. Depression, chronic diseases, and decrements in health: results from the World Health Surveys. Lancet 2007; 370: 851–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9Kaneko, Y, Motohashi, Y, Sasaki, H, Yamaji, M. Prevalence of depressive symptoms and related risk factors for depressive symptoms among elderly persons living in a rural Japanese community: a cross-sectional study. Comm Ment Health 2007; 43: 583–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10Cheng, TA. Mental illness and suicide. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1995; 52: 594–603.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11Chong, MY, Tsang, HY, Chen, CS, Tang, TC, Chen, CC, Yeh, TL, Lee, YH, Lo, HY. Community study of depression in old age in Taiwan: prevalence, life events and social-demographic correlates. Br J Psychiatry 2001; 178: 29–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12Chen, R, Copeland, JRM, Wei, L. A meta-analysis of epidemiological studies in depression of older people in the People's Republic of China. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 1999; 14: 821–30.3.0.CO;2-0>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13Xu, JM. Some issues in the diagnosis of depression in China. Can J Psychiatry 1987; 32: 368–70.Google ScholarPubMed
14Pan, A, Franco, OH, Wang, YF, Yu, ZJ, Ye, XW, Lin, X. Prevalence and geographic disparity of depressive symptoms among middle aged and elderly in China. J Affect Disorders 2008; 105: 167–75.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15Altman, DG, Egger, M, Gotzsche, PC et al. STROBE – checklist of items that should be included in reports of observational studies. Available at: http://www.strobe-statement.org/index.php?id=available-checklists (accessed 15 May 2011).Google Scholar
16Lu, TY, Ma, MZ, Cao, YL et al. Study on depression of the old people in communities and the influencing factors. J Nurs Sci 2001; 16: 387–89.Google Scholar
17Jia, SM, Shi, YJ, Zhou, H, Fu, J, Lv, B. A survey on anxiety and depression and the influencing factors in the elderly of ‘empty nest’ in a community. J Nurs Sci 2007; 22: 8–10.Google Scholar
18Liu, CY, Wang, SJ, Teng, EL, Fuh, JL, Lin, CC, Lin, KN, Chen, HM, Lin, CH, Wang, PN, Yang, YY, Larson, EB, Chou, P, Liu, HC. Depressive disorders among older residents in a Chinese rural community. Psychol Med 1997; 27: 943–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19Wang, JJ. Prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms in the elderly of rural communities in Southern Taiwan. J Nursing Res 2001; 9: 1–12.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20Tsai, YF, Yeh, SH, Tsai, HH. Prevalence and risk factors for depressive symptoms among community-dwelling elders in Taiwan. Int J Geriatr Psych 2005; 20: 1097–102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21Chan, MF, Zeng, W. Investigating factors associated with depression of older women in Macau. J Clin Nurs 2009; 18: 2969–77.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22Chou, KL, Chi, I. Prevalence and correlates of depression in Chinese oldest-old. Int J Geriatr Psych 2005; 20: 41–50.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23Chi, I, Yip, PS, Chiu, HF, Chou, KL, Chan, KS, Kwan, CW, Conwell, Y, Caine, E. Prevalence of depression and its correlates in Hong Kong's Chinese older adults. Am J Geriatr Psychiat 2005; 13: 409–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24Sheikh, JL, Yesavage, JA. Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS): recent evidence and development of a shorter version. Clin Gerontol 1986; 5: 165–73.Google Scholar
25Wang, JY, Cui, N, Ji, NN, Hu, X. A survey on depression and the influencing factors in the elderly of ‘empty nest’ in an urban area. Jilin Med J 2009; 30: 2154–56.Google Scholar
26Zhang, Z, Qian, LM, Miao, J, Wang, RX. A survey on depression and its influencing factors in the elderly of ‘empty nest’ in Kunming. J Practical Med 2010; 26: 2029–31.Google Scholar
27Xing, FM, Tian, XF, Li, JM. Depressive status in retired elderly people and community nursing intervention. Chinese J Clin Rehabil 2005; 9: 222–23.Google Scholar
28Fan, SH, Hua, QZ, Ma, Y et al. A study on incidence and risk factors of depression among aged people in community of Xi'an city. Chinese Nursing Res 2007; 21: 483–85.Google Scholar
29Gao, SJ, Jin, YL, Unverzagt, FW et al. Correlates of depressive symptoms in rural elderly Chinese. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2009; 24: 1358–66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
30Xie, LQ, Zhang, JP, Peng, F, Jiao, NN. Prevalence and related influencing factors of depressive symptoms for empty-nest elderly living in the rural area of YongZhou, China. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 2010; 50: 24–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
31Yesavage, JA, Brink, TL, Rose, TL, Lum, O, Huang, V, Adey, M, Leirer, VO. Development and validation of a geriatric depression screening scale: a preliminary report. J Psychiatr Res 1983; 17: 37–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
32Zhou, CC, Chu, J, Xu, XC, Qin, X, Chen, RL, Hu, Z. Survey on depression of empty nest aged people in rural community of Anhui Province. Chinese Mental Health J 2008; 22: 114–17.Google Scholar
33Copeland, JR, Kelleher, MJ, Kellett, JM, Gourlay, AJ, Gurland, BJ, Fleiss, JL, Sharpe, L. A semi-structured clinical interview for the assessment of diagnosis and mental state in the elderly: the Geriatric Mental State Schedule. 1. Development and reliability. Psychol Med 1976; 6: 439–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
34Lue, BH, Chen, LJ, Wu, SC. Health, financial stresses, and life satisfaction affecting late-life depression among older adults: a nationwide, longitudinal survey in Taiwan. Arch Gerontol Geriat 2010; 50: S34–38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
35Anderson, EM, Malmgren, JA, Carter, WB, Patrick, DL. Screening for depression in well older adults: evaluation of a short form of the CES-D. Am J Prev Med 1994; 10: 77–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
36Lee, HCB, Chou, HFK, Kwong, PPK. Cross-validation of the Geriatric Depression Scale short form in the Hong Kong elderly. Bull Hong Kong Psycho Soc 1994; 32: 72–77.Google Scholar
37Boey, KW. The use of GDS-15 among the older adults in Beijing. Clin Gerontol 2000; 21: 49–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
38Woo, J, Ho, SC, Lau, J, Yuen, YK, Chiu, H, Lee, HC, Chi, I. The prevalence of depressive symptoms and predisposing factors in an elderly Chinese population. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1994; 89: 8–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
39Chan, ACM. Clinical validation of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) – Chinese version. J Aging Health 1996; 8: 238–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
40Irwin, M, Artin, KH, Oxman, MN. Screening for depression in the older adult: criterion validity of the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Arch Intern Med 1999; 159: 1701–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
41Boey, KW. Cross-validation of a short form of the CES-D in Chinese elderly. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 1999; 14: 608–17.3.0.CO;2-Z>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
42Lee, AEY, Chokkanathan, S. Factor structure of the 10-item CES-D scale among community-dwelling older adults in Singapore. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2008; 23: 592–97.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
43Copeland, JRM, Dewey, ME, Griffiths-Jones, HM. A computerized psychiatric diagnostic system and case nomenclature for elderly subjects – GMS and AGECAT. Psychol Med 1986; 16: 89–99.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
44Qin, X, Hu, Z, Xu, XC, Chen, RL. Evaluation on reliability and validity of GMS-AGECAT. Chinese Primary Health Care 2004; 18: 38–39.Google Scholar
45Qin, X, Zhou, CC, Xu, XC, Ma, SS, Chen, RL, Hu, Z. Evaluation of reliability and validity of GMS-AGECAT in rural community. Chinese Rural Health Service Administration 2007; 27: 31–32.Google Scholar
46Lawton, MP, Brody, EM. Assessment of older people: self-maintaining and instrumental activities of daily living. Gerontologist 1969; 9: 179–86.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
47Kuhirunyaratn, P, Pongpanich, S, Somrongthong, R, Love, EJ, Chapman, RS. Social support among elderly in Khon Kean Province, Thailand. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health 2007; 38: 936–46.Google ScholarPubMed
48Yeh, SCJ, Lo, SK. (2004) Living alone, social support and feeling lonely among the elderly. Soc Behav Personal 2004; 32: 129–38.Google Scholar
49Wang, WL. Research on the quality of life for the rural elderly and the ways of living – a study in Guizhou. J Guizhou Univ 2009; 27: 84–91.Google Scholar
50The World Health Organization. Constitution of the World Health Organization. Available at: http://apps.who.int/gb/bd/PDF/bd47/EN/constitution-en.pdf (accessed 15 May 2011).Google Scholar
51Jacobzone, S, Cambois, E, Chaplain, E, Robine, J. The health of older persons in OECD countries: is it improving fast enough to compensate for population ageing? OECD Labour Market and Social Policy Occasional Papers, No. 37, Paris: OECD Publishing, 1999.Google Scholar
52Lowenstein, A, Katz, R, Prilutzky, D, Mehlhausen-Hassoen, D. The intergenerational solidarity paradigm. In Daatland SO, Herlofson K (eds). Aging, intergenerational relations, care systems and quality of life: an introduction to the OASIS project, pp. 11–30. NOVA Rapport. Oslo: NOVA Norwegian Social Research, 2001.Google Scholar