Abstract
BackgroundChina has the largest elderly population in the world; little attention has been paid to the mental health of elderly in areas of extreme poverty. This is the first study to investigate the mental health of the rural elderly in poverty state counties in Chongqing and was part of the Chongqing 2018 health literacy promotion project.MethodsIn 2019, a cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the mental health status of the rural elderly in fourteen poverty state counties of Chongqing, in which a total of 1400 elderly aged ≥ 65 years were interviewed, where mental health status was measured by the ten-item Kessler10 (K10) scale. Ordered multivariate logistic regression was performed to evaluate the influencing factors related to mental health of the elderly in these areas.ResultsThe average score of K10 in 14 poverty state counties was 17.40 ± 6.31, 47.6% was labeled as good, 30.2% was moderate, 17.0% was poor, and lastly 5.1% was bad, and the mental health status of the elderly in the northeastern wing of Chongqing was better than the one in the southeastern wing of Chongqing. A worse self-rated health was the risk factor for mental health both in the northeastern and southeastern wings of Chongqing (all P < 0.001). Lower education level (OR (95% CI) = 1.45 (1.12–1.87), P = 0.004) was a risk factor in the northeastern wing, whereas older age (OR (95% CI) = 1.33 (1.13–1.56), P = 0.001) was a risk factors in the southeastern wing.ConclusionsThe results showed that mental health of the elderly in poverty state counties was poor, especially in the southeastern wing of Chongqing. Particular attention needs to be paid to the males who were less educated, older, and single; female with lower annual per capital income; and especially the elderly with poor self-rated health.
Highlights
Population aging is becoming an important public health problem in the world
By 2017, there were 241 million old adults aged over 60 years in China, these accounting for 17.3% of the total population [2]
Our research found that from the total 14 poverty state counties, 47.6% accounted for a good mental health (K10 below 15), in northeastern wing 57.8%, while in southeastern wing of Chongqing just 34.9%
Summary
Population aging is becoming an important public health problem in the world. Internationally, countries that typically have more than 10% of the population over the age of 60 are called an aging society. By 2017, there were 241 million old adults aged over 60 years in China, these accounting for 17.3% of the total population [2]. At the end of 2018, this number exceeded 249 million, accounting for 17.9% of the total population. The population aged 65 and above reached 160 million, accounting for 11.9%. China has the largest elderly population in the world; little attention has been paid to the mental health of elderly in areas of extreme poverty. This is the first study to investigate the mental health of the rural elderly in poverty state counties in Chongqing and was part of the Chongqing 2018 health literacy promotion project
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