Depression symptoms and quality of life in empty-nest elderly among Chengdu: A cross-sectional study

ObjectivesTo estimate the prevalence of depression symptoms and quality of life (QoL) and examined the influence of factors in the empty nest elderly. MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study, which was conducted from February 2022 to May 2022. We recruited a convenience sample of no empty-nest elderly and empty-nest elderly (>= 60 years) living in Chengdu. QoL was assessed using WHOQOL-BREF, Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) was used to assess depression symptoms. Multivariable logistic regression was used to analyze data between independent variables with depression symptoms. ResultsTwo thousand twenty-six participants were included in this study, 39.0% (660/1,082) experienced depression symptoms among empty-nest elderly. Age (aOR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.00-1.04; P = 0.046), chronic disease >= 2 (aOR, 3.29; 95% CI, 2.50-4.33; P < 0.001) were associated with increased risk of depression symptoms, and physical activity (aOR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.40-0.87; P = 0.008), physical health (aOR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.88-0.99; P = 0.026), psychological health (aOR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.87-0.98; P = 0.013), and total score (aOR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.96-0.99; P < 0.001) were associated with decreased risk of depression symptoms among empty-nest elderly. ConclusionsDepression symptoms are common mental health problems among empty-nest elderly. We found that age, chronic disease >= 2 and physical activity were important factors that have an impact on depressive symptoms. Empty-nest elderly would have lowered QoL score.