title: Poor mental health status and its associations with demographic characteristics and chronic diseases in Chinese elderly.
abstract: Although poor mental health is associated with significant personal and societal burden, it is rarely reported in older Chinese populations. This study examined the mental health status of a large representative sample of Chinese elderly in relation to socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle, and chronic diseases.
  
  
  
  Multistage stratified cluster sampling was used in this cross-sectional study. A total of 4115 people aged between 60 and 79 years were selected and interviewed with standardized assessment tools. The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was used to measure general mental health with the total score of ≥4 as the threshold for poor mental health status.
  
  
  
  The adjusted percentage of poor mental health status in the whole sample was 23.8 %; 18.5 % in men and 28.9 % in women. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that female gender, widowed/separated marital status, rural abode, low income, poor diet, lack of physical exercise, and multi-morbidity were independently associated with poor mental health. The percentage of poor mental health status was significantly higher in patients with anemia, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, cataract/glaucoma, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases, nasopharyngitis, chronic gastroenteritis/peptic ulcer, liver diseases, cholecystitis/gallstone, arthritis, or chronic low back pain.
  
  
  
  Given the high rate of poor mental health status among older Chinese population, policy makers and health professionals in China should address the mental health burden of its aging population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China.|Unit of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, 3/F, Building E12, Taipa, Macau SAR, China.
authors.forename: Shibin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China. li_bo@jlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: University of Notre Dame Australia/Marian Centre, Perth, Australia.|School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
authors.forename: Gabor S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Ungvari
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Chee H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Helen F K
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
authors.forename: Changgui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kou
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
authors.forename: Yawen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
authors.forename: Yuchun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
authors.forename: Yanhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
authors.forename: Yingli
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
authors.forename: Yaqin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Unit of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, 3/F, Building E12, Taipa, Macau SAR, China. xyutly@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yu-Tao
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Xiang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Chinese elderly; Chronic disease; Mental health