The association between depressive symptoms and fall accidents among middle-aged and elderly people in China

Peng Ouyang,Wenjun Sun

doi:10.1186/s12199-018-0735-y

Abstract

BackgroundDepressive symptoms are a worldwide health problem. However, the research about the effect of depressive symptoms on the fall among the Chinese mid-aged and elderly people is lacking. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the association between depressive symptoms and fall accidents among middle-aged and elderly people in China.MethodsThis study was conducted based on 12,527 sets of data from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS). The 2011 depressive symptoms data and the 2013 fall data were chosen for this study. The depressive symptom-related data was assessed by the Chinese version of Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scales (CES-D). Individuals were divided into subgroups according to gender (male or female), age (45–59, middle-aged or ≥ 60, elderly people), and residence (rural or urban). The odds ratios (ORs) were compared between subgroups using multivariable logistic regression analysis method.ResultsThe adjusted OR value (OR = 1.19 [95% CI 1.07–1.33]) shows there is a significant association between depressive symptoms and subsequent fall accidents. The ORs of the female, elderly people, rural, and urban subgroups are 1.31 (95% CI 1.11–1.55), 1.24 (95% CI 1.08–1.43), 1.17 (95% CI 1.02–1.33), and 1.25 (95% CI 1.04–1.49), respectively, which reveals that this association is also statistically significant in these subgroups.ConclusionsThis study shows that there is a significant association between depressive symptoms and their subsequent fall accidents among the Chinese middle-aged and elderly people.

Highlights

Depressive symptoms are a worldwide health problem
After the participants were separated according to the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scales (CES-D) score, the fall prevalence of the people suffered from depressive symptoms is significantly higher than that of the normal people (p < 0.01)
There are three major findings in this study: first, there exists a significant association between depressive symptoms which is assessed by CES-D and fall accidents among the middle-aged and elderly people in China; second, the results of the subgroups divided according to the place of residence show that statistically significant association exists within this subgroup; third, for gender and age subgroups, the statistically significant association exists in female and elderly people, and others does not exist

Summary

Introduction

Depressive symptoms are a worldwide health problem. This study aims to investigate the association between depressive symptoms and fall accidents among middle-aged and elderly people in China. Depressive symptoms are a kind of common disorder which is characterized by sadness, loss of interest in activities, and decreased energy and may occur throughout the life-course [1, 2]. They have become a serious health issue around the world in both developed and developing countries. Depressive symptoms are often associated with health issues such as chronic pain [5] and impaired quality of life [6]. Fall would have an important impact on subsequent disability, quality of life, and mortality [9, 10]

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Conclusion