Associations of Indoor Ventilation Frequency with Depression and Anxiety in Chinese Older Adults

Abstract

Depression and anxiety carry an important public health burden. Indoor air pollution is associated with depression and anxiety. Ventilation can reduce the concentration of indoor air pollution and improve indoor air quality. This study explored the relationship between indoor ventilation frequency and depression and anxiety in older adults using the data from the 2018 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. Compared with older people with low indoor ventilation frequency, those with high indoor ventilation frequency had 51% lower odds of depression (OR=0.49, 95% CI: 0.43 to 0.57) and 37% lower odds of anxiety (OR=0.63, 95% CI: 0.43 to 0.91), and those with intermediate indoor ventilation frequency had 35% lower odds of depression (OR=0.65, 95% CI: 0.56 to 0.75) and 45% lower odds of anxiety (OR=0.55, 95% CI: 0.37 to 0.82). The results were similar across the seasons. However, there were sex, age, lifestyle, and cooking fuel use-specific differences in these associations. The findings emphasize that high ventilation frequency may be conducive to improving mental health in older adults, especially women, the old elder, nonsmokers, nondrinkers, and those who do not exercise and cooked at home.