Association between Daily Internet Use and Incidence of Chronic Diseases among Older Adults: A Cohort Study over 8-year Period (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Chronic disease incidence among the elderly is increasing, which is correlated with the acceleration of population aging. Evolving Internet technologies may provide prevention and intervention for chronic disease in an accelerating ageing process. However, the impact of the Internet use on the incidence of chronic disease is not well understood. OBJECTIVE To investigate if daily Internet use by middle-aged and older adults may inhibit or promote the occurrence of chronic diseases. METHODS We included participants from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), a longitudinal survey of Chinese residents aged ≥45 years. Eight-year data from wave 1 (June 2011 to March 2012) to wave 4 (July to September 2018) in the CHARLS were assessed, with wave 1 in the CHARLS as baseline waves. Self-reported data was used to track variables including Internet use, use frequency and the incidence of different chronic diseases. Cox proportional hazards model was applied to examine the relationship between Internet use and chronic diseases among middle-aged and older adults while adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and health behaviors. RESULTS Of the 20,113 participants included in main analyses, Internet use increased significantly, from 1.98% to 12.25% between 2011 and 2018. The adjusted model finds statistically significant relationships between Internet use and lower incidence of the following chronic diseases: hypertension (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.65 to 0.95, P=.01), chronic lung disease (HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.57 to 0.97, P=.03), stroke (HR 0.69, 95% CI 0.50 to 0.94, P=.02), digestive disease (HR 0.73, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.91, P<.001), memory-related disease (HR 0.58, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.91, P=.02), arthritis or rheumatism (HR 0.60, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.76, P<.001), asthma (HR 0.52, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.84, P<.01), depression (HR 0.80, 95% CI 0.71 to 0.89, P<.001), and vision impairment (HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.74 to 0.93, P<.01). CONCLUSIONS According to the results of the present research, middle-aged and old adults who utilized the Internet have a reduced chance of developing chronic diseases than those who didn't. Given the rapid development of Internet use among middle-aged and older adults, it is more crucial than ever to fully use the Internet platform, encourage, and enhance their Internet usage to promote chronic disease prevention.