Within-couple longitudinal associations between functional disability and depressive symptoms among Chinese older couples over four years.

OBJECTIVE: Functional disability and depressive symptoms are pressing public health challenges in China's aging society. This study examined their longitudinal associations within older couples. METHOD: Dyadic data from the first three waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011-2015) were analyzed using cross-lagged actor-partner interdependence models. Functional disability was assessed using Basic Activities of Daily Living (BADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) scales. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. RESULTS: The BADL and IADL models included 1,159 and 1,724 dyads, respectively. Functional disability and depressive symptoms were stable over time for both spouses. Within-person associations were generally bidirectional, except that wives' BADL disability did not predict their later depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms also predicted partners' later depressive symptoms in both directions. Three cross-domain partner associations were significant in the primary analyses, but several actor and partner associations became nonsignificant in complete-case analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Functional disability and depressive symptoms were longitudinally interrelated within older Chinese couples. Some associations were sensitive to the treatment of missing data and warrant cautious interpretation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).