Determining the association between different living arrangements and depressive symptoms among over-65-year-old people: The moderating role of outdoor activities

Xu, Rixiang; Liu, Yulian; Mu, Ting-Yu; Ye, Yaping; Xu, Chunfang

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.954416

Cited by 16 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…The opposite in uences of living close to their children and living far from them explain why solitary living does not signi cantly in uence senior urban residents' mental health. [11]conclusions. Their research found that seniors who lived alone were more depressed.…”

Section: Urban-rural Differencesmentioning

confidence: 91%

Does Living Alone Jeopardize Seniors’ Mental Health? Evidence from China

Wang,

Sun

2024

Preprint

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Introduction: Solitary living has gradually gained popularity in China. From a spatial perspective, this trend weakens the emotional connections between parents and children, a fundamental concept in Confucianism. This has raised concerns about the mental health of older adults who live alone. Despite prior research having evaluated the influence of solitary living on seniors’ mental health in different cultures, there remains controversy about these conclusions. Methods: This article adopted fixed effect model to analyze three sets of data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study based on different family cultures reflected by living arrangements and mental health. Results: The results indicate that living alone reduces seniors’ depression levels by 0.322 (P< 0.01). The positive effects generated by solitary living on seniors’ mental health originate from living close to their children. This living style effectively balances the need for individual independence and the demand for maintaining close family relationships, reconciling intergenerational family cultures.Differences in family cultures are also identified between rural and urban areas. This study indicates that living alone is good for the mental health of seniors in rural areas; however, no significant effects were found for older adults in urban areas. This difference is likely because living distantly from their children has increased the depression levels of seniors in urban areas. Discussion: As living close to their children positively impacts seniors’ mental health, policymakers are advised to focus on enhancing local government’s capabilities to absorb employment. Special emphasis should be placed on incentivizing migrant workers in urban areas to consider returning to their hometowns to initiate entrepreneurial ventures or seek employment opportunities.

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Section: Urban-rural Differencesmentioning

confidence: 91%

Does Living Alone Jeopardize Seniors’ Mental Health? Evidence from China

Wang,

Sun

2024

Preprint

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“…Wang and Wang (2018) concluded from a survey of 386 university students that being active in a natural environment significantly and negatively predicted depressed mood. Xu et al (2022) conducted a study on the relationship between living arrangements and depressive symptoms in 12,200 elderly people, and Mechanisms by which pro-nature physical activity antagonizes psychological stress through MGBA. 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1143827 Frontiers in Psychology 07 frontiersin.org found that outdoor physical activities had a good effect on reducing depressive symptoms in the elderly.…”

Section: Inspiration For Exercise Interventions For Psychological Str...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanism and implications of pro-nature physical activity in antagonizing psychological stress: the key role of microbial-gut-brain axis

2023

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Appropriate physical activities and a biodiversity-rich environment are conducive to the relief of psychological stress, and pro-nature physical activities are a combination of the two, which has good application potential in antagonizing psychological stress, but the intervention mechanism is still unclear. The microbiota-gut-brain axis is cyclically associated with psychological stress, and psychological stress can affect the microbiota through the gut-brain pathway, and conversely, the microbiota can also affect the psychological stress-induced symptoms. It is suggested that the microbe-gut-brain axis may provide a new perspective and target for the treatment of psychological stress-related diseases. Pro-nature physical activity can improve the number of Firmicutes, short-chain fatty acids, Akkermansia bacteria, and the gut-brain barrier and further affect the HPA axis, BDNF, and serotonin pathways of gut-brain two-way communication, thereby maintaining the body’s homeostasis and reducing antagonistic psychological stress. According to the comprehensive influence of physical activities on the microbiota-gut-brain axis, a “green + exercise prescription hypothesis” in line with the holistic medical concept is revealed, which is expected to be effective in the prevention, alleviation, and treatment of irritable bowel syndrome and neurodegenerative diseases. It provides new means for treating psychological stress-related diseases such as mental disorders and mood disorders. In addition, it enlightens the construction of green infrastructure that is conducive to the diversified contact of microorganisms in outdoor physical activities venues and induces healthy interaction between the human body and the microbial population in the natural ecology. However, the current research is still in its early stages, and the intervention effect and mechanism of pro-nature physical activities need further demonstration in the future.

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“…Regarding the association between living arrangements and older adults' health outcomes, although mixed results have been documented in a variety of social contexts, in China, where there is a strong tradition of filial piety and an expectation of sons providing care to older adults, empirical findings largely corroborated that co-residence had a positive impact on older adults' health. In general, older adults who lived with adult children were found to report better SRH, a lower likelihood of having activity of daily living (ADL) disabilities, and were less likely to feel lonely or depressed ( 4 , 17 – 19 ). Scholars also observed that Chinese older adults who lived with family members had greater odds of reporting good quality of sleep and a longer duration of sleep ( 20 ).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Living arrangements, health lifestyles, and health outcomes among Chinese oldest-old

Wang,

Zhang,

Wang

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundPrior literature has documented a strong correlation between living arrangements and older adults' health outcomes. However, few studies have explained why this association exists. This study took the health lifestyle theory approach and brought health lifestyles into the link between living arrangements and Chinese oldest-old health outcomes. It examined (1) whether healthy lifestyle behaviors among the oldest-old varied by household contexts and (2) whether the health disparities among the Chinese oldest-old in different household contexts could be partially explained by their healthy lifestyles.MethodsUsing the most recent 2018 data released by the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), latent class analysis was applied to identify predominant health lifestyles among the Chinese oldest-old aged 85-105 years. Regression analyses were used to test the mediating effect of health lifestyles.ResultsThree distinct classes representing the health lifestyles of Chinese oldest-old emerged; health lifestyle patterns were found to vary by elders' living arrangements. The respondent's health lifestyles in diverse residential structures served as a mediator which can partially explain the health disparities among the oldest-old.ConclusionThe results suggested that health lifestyles can serve as a mediator to explain the association between oldest-old living arrangement patterns and their health outcomes. The findings highlighted the importance of family, lifestyles, and cultural contexts to the health of the oldest-old.

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Determining the association between different living arrangements and depressive symptoms among over-65-year-old people: The moderating role of outdoor activities

Cited by 16 publications

References 43 publications

Does Living Alone Jeopardize Seniors’ Mental Health? Evidence from China

Does Living Alone Jeopardize Seniors’ Mental Health? Evidence from China

Mechanism and implications of pro-nature physical activity in antagonizing psychological stress: the key role of microbial-gut-brain axis

Living arrangements, health lifestyles, and health outcomes among Chinese oldest-old

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