Abstract
Objectives: Global aging is an increasingly serious problem. The health problems faced by the elderly, such as depression and obesity, require serious consideration. Education, depression and obesity are inextricably linked; for the elderly, education is constant, and the factors which can mediate the relationship between education, depression and obesity are still being discussed by scholars. The mediating effect of social capital is rarely studied. The objective of this study was to assess the mediating role of cognitive social capital and structural social capital, as well as the effect of education on depression and obesity among the elderly using China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data. Methods: In total, 4919 respondents were included in the final analysis. Education was measured by years of schooling. Trust and participation were used as measures of cognitive social capital and structural social capital. Depression symptoms and BMI were used as outcomes. Structural equation models were developed to examine the direct and indirect effect of social capital and education on health outcomes. Results: Education was negatively correlated with depression symptom (r = −0.15, p < 0.001), while education was positively correlated with BMI (r = 0.08, p < 0.001). Older adults with a higher education level have higher cognitive social capital (r = 0.11, p < 0.001) and structural social capital (r = 0.20, p < 0.001). Social capital plays a mediatory role. Older adults with higher social capital have a lower risk of depression (cognitive: r = −0.23, p < 0.001; structural: r = −0.03, p < 0.01) but a higher risk of obesity (cognitive: r = 0.06, p < 0.01; structural: r = 0.03, p < 0.01). For depression, the mediating function of cognitive social capital (a1b1= −0.025) is stronger than that of structural social capital (a2b2 = −0.006). While, for obesity, the effects of both cognitive and structural social capital are the same (a1c1 = a2c2 = 0.005). Conclusions: Social capital as a mediator through the effect of education on depression and obesity among the elderly in China. Meanwhile, using the positive effects of social capital to avoid negative effects should also be seriously considered.
Highlights
It is estimated that between 2017 and 2050, the proportion of the world’s population aged 60 years old and above will nearly double from 926 million in 2017 to 2.1 billion in 2050 [1]
This study found that education have a negative effect on depression while education was positively correlated with obesity
Older adults with higher social capital had a lower risk of depression but higher risk of obesity
Summary
It is estimated that between 2017 and 2050, the proportion of the world’s population aged 60 years old and above will nearly double from 926 million in 2017 to 2.1 billion in 2050 [1]. In 2050, 80% of older people will be living in low- and middle-income countries. Aging is a challenge for all countries, and the crisis is even greater in low- and middle-income countries [2]. Older people are more likely to suffer from both mental and physical health problems [3,4,5]. Obesity and depression are common health problems for the elderly. Over the past 40 years, the prevalence of global obesity has increased substantially, from less than 1% in 1975, to 6–8% in 2016 [6]. The prevalence of overweight and obesity increases with age [7].
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