Depressive Symptoms and Associated Factors Among Middle-Aged and Older Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: Gender Differences Based on a Health Ecological Model

Objectives: Depressive symptoms are highly prevalent among individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study explores their associated factors and gender differences among middle-aged and older CKD patients in China. Methods: Based on the health ecology model (HEM), this study utilized the 2018 cross-sectional data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) to examine gender differences in CKD patients across demographic groups. A multivariate logistic regression identified factors associated with depressive symptoms and gender differences among middle-aged and older patients with CKD in China. Additionally, a random forest model was constructed to rank the importance of key predictors based on the Gini index. Results: Among 1422 CKD patients, 50.35% reported depressive symptoms (42.97% of males and 59.56% of females). Factors significantly associated with higher depressive symptoms included female gender, rural residence, poor self-reported health, sleep duration < 7 h, and limitations in Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs). The association of smoking and ADLs on depressive symptoms in CKD patients varied considerably between genders. Self-reported health and life satisfaction were the two variables most strongly associated with depressive symptoms among CKD patients. Conclusions: The study shows that female CKD patients have a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms than males. Several factors are significantly associated with depressive symptoms in patients with CKD. These findings provide valuable insights that potentially inform the development of targeted prevention and management strategies for depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older CKD patients in China.