Patterns of Early-Life Chronic Somatic Diseases and Disabilities in Chinese Older Adults and Their Association with Later-Life Depression Risk

Yushan Du, Institute of Population Research, Peking University
Xiaohan Zhu, Institute of Population Research, Peking University
Chao Guo, Institute of Population Research, Peking University

Objectives: This study aimed to estimate the associations of chronic somatic disease-disability patterns in early adulthood and midlife with the risk of depression in later life among older adults aged 60 years or over in China. Methods: Data were drawn from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study implemented during 2011–2018. Sequence analysis was used to group participants with similar chronic somatic disease-disability trajectories between the ages of 18 and 59. Linear mixed effects models and generalized estimating equation models were used to estimate the associations of early-life chronic somatic disease-disability patterns with later-life symptoms of depression. Results: Among 6,164 participants aged 60 years or over, five distinct early-life chronic somatic disease-disability patterns were identified: ‘long-term health’, ‘later transition to morbidity and multimorbidity’, ‘long-term morbidity with later transition to multimorbidity’, ‘long-term disability’, and ‘fast transition to multimorbidity’. After adjusting for demographic, socio-economic, lifestyle, and health-related factors, participants who experienced a rapid transition to multimorbidity in early life were the most vulnerable, showing a significantly higher risk of later-life depression compared to those who maintained health. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that early diagnosis and interventions for chronic somatic diseases and disabilities are important for later-life mental health.

Keywords: Population Ageing, Health and Morbidity, Longitudinal studies , Inequality, Disadvantage and Discrimination

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