Depressive symptoms and metabolic abnormalities among Chinese middle-aged and older adults based on CHARLS 2020

Depressive symptoms and metabolic abnormalities among Chinese middle-aged and older adults based on CHARLS 2020. Download PDF Abstract Metabolic abnormalities including diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia are highly prevalent among middle-aged and older adults and frequently co-occur, thereby increasing cardiovascular risk. Depressive symptoms have been associated with metabolic abnormalities, but evidence regarding its association with both individual and multiple metabolic abnormalities in Chinese populations remains limited.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among Chinese adults aged 45 years and older using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10) and categorized as normal (0–9), mild (10–14), moderate (15–19), or severe (≥ 20). Diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia were assessed as individual metabolic outcomes, and the number of metabolic abnormalities was calculated as the total number of these three conditions (0–3).

Logistic regression models were used to examine the associations between depressive symptom severity and individual metabolic abnormalities, as well as the cumulative metabolic burden. For cumulative metabolic burden, separate binary logistic regression models compared 0 versus 1, 0–1 versus 2, and 0–1–2 versus 3 metabolic abnormalities. Analyses were conducted using complete cases, and CHARLS survey weights, strata, and primary sampling units were not incorporated into the regression analyses.

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