Dose-response relationship between intergenerational contact frequency and depressive symptoms amongst elderly Chinese parents: a cross-sectional study

Background Given the high prevalence of depressive symptoms amongst the elderly Chinese population and the significance of intergenerational contact in this demographic group, the purpose of this study was to examine the association and dose-response relationship between the frequency of intergenerational contact and depressive symptoms. Methods Data were obtained from the third wave of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. A total of 5791 participants at age 60 or older were included in this study. Depressive symptoms were defined by the 10-item version of the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Intergenerational contact included in-person meeting and remote connecting, and they were analysed separately. Intergenerational contact frequency was classified into ten categories and then treated as a continuous variable for analysis. We performed univariate and multivariate logistic regressions to identify risk covariables. Restrictive cubic spline analysis was used to examine the dose-response relationship between intergenerational contact frequency and the outcome of depressive symptoms. Results Both the frequency of meeting and the frequency of connecting with children were independently associated with depressive symptoms in the elderly, and the odds ratios for depressive symptoms increased with decreasing frequencies (P < 0.01). There was a negative dose-response relationship between intergenerational contact frequency and depressive symptoms. The odds of depressive symptoms steadily decreased with increasing frequency of meeting with their children. Following an initial increase, the odds rapidly decreased as the frequency of connecting with children increased with an inflection point at once a monthly. Both associations were nonlinear (P < 0.001). Conclusions Our findings revealed a negative dose-response relationship between intergenerational contact frequency and depressive symptoms in the elderly Chinese population. Thus, future health interventions should consider cultural norms in shaping the mental well-being of Chinese elderly persons.