title: Gender differences in general mental health, smoking, drinking and chronic diseases in older adults in Jilin province, China.
abstract: There is little information on gender differences in general mental health, smoking, drinking and chronic diseases in Chinese elderly. We examined the gender differences in general mental health, smoking, drinking and a number of chronic diseases in a large Chinese old population. Multistage stratified cluster sampling was used in this cross-sectional study. A total of 4115 people (2198 women; 1917 men) aged between 60 and 79 years were included and their general mental health, smoking, drinking and chronic diseases were recorded with standardized assessment tools. Multivariate analyses revealed that women were less likely to be current smokers and frequent drinkers, but had higher prevalence of poor mental health compared with their male counterparts. In addition, the prevalence rate of chronic diseases and multi-morbidities were higher in women than that in men (both p values <0.05). Health professionals and policy makers need to pay special attention to the common chronic diseases and poor mental health in older women and higher prevalence of smoking and drinking in men.
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, Macao SAR, China.
authors.forename: Shibin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: University of Notre Dame Australia / Marian Centre, Perth, Australia; School of Psychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
authors.forename: Gabor S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Ungvari
authors.affiliation: Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA & Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Brent P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Forester
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Helen F K
authors.initials: HFK
authors.lastname: Chiu
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: Changgui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kou
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: 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: Yaqin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China. Electronic address: li_bo@jlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Unit of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR, China. Electronic address: xyutly@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yu-Tao
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Xiang
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: China; Chronic disease; Multi-morbidity; Older adults; Prevalence