Analysis of depression incidence and influencing factors among middle-aged and elderly diabetic patients in China—Based on CHARLS data

Abstract Objective To investigate the incidence of depression in middle-aged and elderly diabetic patients in China and the influencing factors, in order to provide a theoretical basis for improving the mental health of middle-aged and elderly diabetic population and formulating prevention, control and intervention strategies. Methods The sample of this study was obtained from the China Health and Aging Tracking Survey (CHARLS) 2018 survey data, and middle-aged and older diabetic patients aged 45 years and above were selected as the study subjects (n=2613 ), and the depressive symptoms of the study subjects were determined by using the simplified version of the Depression Scale for Epidemiological Surveys (CES-D) scores, and the influence factors were analyzed by binary logistic regression, and the proportion of depressive symptoms was standardized by the sex ratio of the seventh census. Results Among 2613 middle-aged and elderly diabetic patients, 1782 (68.2%) had depressive symptoms and 831 (31.8%) had no depressive symptoms, and the depression rate among middle-aged and elderly Chinese diabetic patients after standardization correction was 67.5%. Binary logistic regression results showed that age, education level, life satisfaction, marital satisfaction, self-rated health grade, somatic pain, visual impairment, physical disability, and the presence of comorbid chronic diseases were factors influencing the onset of depression in Chinese middle-aged and elderly diabetic patients (P < 0.05). Conclusion According to the survey analysis of CHARLS 2018 data, depressive symptoms are more serious among middle-aged and elderly diabetic patients in China, and depression is influenced by a combination of factors. Therefore, for this population of middle-aged and elderly diabetic patients, targeted prevention and control should be carried out for key populations such as middle-aged and elderly people, poor physical health, and low life satisfaction and marital satisfaction from various dimensions such as demographic and sociological factors, physical health status, and life satisfaction and marital satisfaction.