Association between multiple chronic conditions and depressive symptoms among the elderly: Based on the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS)

Abstract Background: Multiple (two or more) chronic conditions (MCCs) is an important influencing factor on healthy ageing, which is associated with an increased risk of mortality, functional decline, mental health problems, especially depression in the elderly. However, evidence on associations between MCCs and depression among the elderly is not clear. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between MCCs and depression in a large Chinese community study. Methods: Cross-sectional data of 6360 elderly were screened from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, wave 4) database. Depression symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D-10), and the elderly with MCCs is that who have been diagnosed at least two or more chronic diseases by the doctor. To test the relationship between MCCs and depression among the elderly, chi-square test and generalized linear model (GLM) were carried out.Results: The prevalence of chronic diseases in the elderly was 50.0%, of which 60.5% suffered from depression. Among the elderly with chronic disease, 19.8% suffered from MCCs, and the probability of depression in the elderly with MCCs was 1.332 times higher than that in the elderly without MCCs (OR:1.332, OR95% CI: 1.152 to 1.541). Urban and rural source, elementary school and above, social activities, life satisfaction, health satisfaction and child relationship satisfaction were the influencing factors of depression in the elderly with MCCs, while gender, urban and rural source, age(≥75y), per capita household income, life satisfaction, health satisfaction and child relationship satisfaction were the influencing factors of depression in the elderly without MCCs.Conclusion: The results of this study contributed to the exiting research gap on the relationship between MCCs and depression among the elderly, and can develop depression interventions targeting specific chronic disease for elderly.