Key result
Fair or poor self-rated health is linked to ~62% higher risk of developing depressive symptoms.
Why the study?
Clinical health assessments are limited in rural areas with poor medical conditions, and whether self-rated health independently predicts depressive symptoms in rural adults required confirmation.
Does fair or poor self-rated health predict the incidence of depressive symptoms in rural Chinese adults?
Cohort (n=6,254)
Yes
Does fair or poor self-rated health predict the incidence of depressive symptoms in rural Chinese adults?
Effect estimate: OR 1.62 (95% CI 1.45-1.82)
Absolute Event Rate: 30.86% vs 21.59%
p-value: p=<0.001
Fair or poor self-rated health serves as a simple, independent predictor for the development of depressive symptoms over 4 years in rural Chinese adults aged 30 and older.
May flag higher depression risk in rural adults; hypothesis-generating for targeted screening before practice change.
Health status is widely regarded as a correlate of depressive symptoms. However, health assessments based on clinical diagnosis in rural areas with poor medical conditions are very limited. Self-rated health (SRH) serves as a simple and convenient evaluation indicator, which may be used as an independent predictor of depressive symptoms. To confirm the relationship between SRH and depressive symptoms in rural adults, a longitudinal survey of rural households in China was conducted using the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) from 2012 to 2016. Propensity score matching and logistic regression analysis were used to explore the association. After data cleansing, 3,127 pairs (6,254 participants) aged 16 and older followed for 4 years were enrolled, of which the average age was (50.02 ± 14.19) years old, and the proportions of male and female were 48.64% and 51.36%, respectively. The incidence rate of depressive symptoms within 4 years was 30.86% (95%CI: 29.24–32.48) in the group with fair or poor SRH, and 21.59% (95%CI: 20.14–23.03) in the group with good SRH. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (χ² = 69.51, P < 0.001). The results of univariate unconditional logistic regression analysis showed that there was a correlation between SRH and depressive symptoms in rural adults aged 30 and above (OR = 1.65, 95%CI: 1.46–1.85, P < 0.001). Thus, a simple and practical assessment tool based on SRH and other indicators should be established for early prevention and intervention in rural primary mental health care.
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Wang et al. (2022) conducted a cohort in Depressive symptoms (n=6,254). Fair or poor self-rated health vs. Good self-rated health was evaluated on Incidence of depressive symptoms (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.45-1.82, p=<0.001). Fair or poor self-rated health significantly increased the risk of developing depressive symptoms over 4 years compared to good self-rated health in rural Chinese adults (30.86% vs 21.59%).
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