Mental health status and its influencing factors of the elderly / 中华疾病控制杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To assess the current status and factors associated with the mental health condition of older adults. Methods A convenience sampling survey was conducted using symptom check list 90 (SCL-90) among the Chinese older adults aged 60 or above from January to March, 2018. The older adults aged 80 or above were selected for this study. Chi-square test and binary logistic regression model were used to analyze the influencing factors. Results The total participants were 485. The SCL-90 positive detection rate was 20.21%. The symptoms of the four highest detection rates were somatization (39.38%), others (25.15%), obsessive-compulsive symptoms (24.33%) and depression (22.68%). The older adults with normal BMI (OR=0.537, 95% CI 0.250-0.857, P=0.027) and lived in county town (OR=0.224, 95% CI0.075-0.667, P=0.007) showed lower SCL-90 positive detection rate. These who had been educated for 1-5 years (OR=11.092, 95% CI 4.446-27.671, P<0.001), 6-8 years (OR=9.800, 95% CI 3.464-27.721, P<0.001), 9~11 years (OR=19.279, 95% CI 6.722-55.297, P<0.001), 12 years and above (OR=24.321, 95% CI 7.894-74.929, P<0.001) had higher SCL-90 positive detection rate compared with those who were uneducated. Conclusion The mental health condition of Chinese older adults is mainly influenced by residence place, education level, family income self-evaluation and BMI status.