Low mental health literacy and its association with depression, anxiety and poor sleep quality in Chinese elderly

Abstract

Background Mental health literacy (MHL) is rarely reported in the Chinese elderly. This study explored the pattern of MHL in the Chinese elderly in relation to depression, anxiety and poor sleep quality. Methods A cross‐sectional study was conducted among older adults in Guangzhou, south China. Participants were investigated face‐to‐face using the Chinese National Mental Health Literacy Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire‐9 item (PHQ‐9), the 7‐item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD‐7) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Mental Health Literacy Scale contains three dimensions: mental health knowledge, mental health skills (such as social support, cognitive reappraisal and attentional distraction) and mental health awareness. Multivariate logistic regression was used for examining the association between MHL and mental health. Results A total of 506 older adults were recruited. The percentage of depression, anxiety, and poor sleep quality were 16.6%, 7.9% and 40.9%, respectively. MHL dimensions independently associated with depression included cognitive reappraisal (OR = 1.95, p < .001), attentional distraction (OR = 0.61, p = 0.044) and awareness (OR = 0.56, p = 0.027). MHL dimensions independently associated with anxiety symptoms included cognitive reappraisal (OR = 1.90, p = 0.011) and attentional distraction (OR = 0.44, p = 0.016). MHL dimensions independently associated with poor sleep quality included social support (OR = 0.75, p = 0.022), cognitive reappraisal (OR = 1.55, p = 0.003) and attentional distraction (OR = 0.65, p = 0.016). Conclusion Given the low MHL and its association with poor mental health in the Chinese elderly, policymakers and health professionals should improve the older adults' MHL, which could be conducive to the prevention and control of their mental health problems.

The prevalence of anxiety and its key influencing factors among the elderly in China

“…In China, anxiety disorders were the most common class of disorders, with the lifetime prevalence of 7.6% ( 8 ). A cross-sectional study conducted among older adults in south China reported the prevalence of anxiety as 7.9% ( 9 ). A survey included 4,103 community-dwellings adults aged 60 and older from the West China showed that anxiety were prevalent in 20.8% of all participants ( 10 ).…”

“…Most of the existing studies about anxiety among Chinese are based on specific populations [such as children and adolescents ( 21 ), some occupational groups ( 22 ), or patients with certain diseases ( 23 )], medium sample size ( 10 ) (less than 10,000 respondents) and limited sample area ( 9 ) (studies are usually conducted in several cities or regions). The research method tends to be traditional logistic regression analysis.…”

Depression and quality of life among Macau residents in the 2022 COVID-19 pandemic wave from the perspective of network analysis

“…We also found that participants who experienced a heavier economic loss during the COVID-19 wave were more likely to suffer from depressive symptoms, which is consistent with previous findings ( Hertz-Palmor et al, 2020 ; Argabright et al, 2022 ). People who were economically disadvantaged were more likely to experience financial insecurity, unhealthy lifestyles, poor living conditions, and reduced social capital ( Lund and Cois, 2018 ; Jin et al, 2020 ; Ding et al, 2022 ). All these factors might lead to a higher risk of depression.…”

Topics Included in Health Literacy Studies in Asia: A Systematic Review

“…112 For seniors, low mental HL was associated with depression, anxiety, and poor sleep quality. 113 Diseases-specific HL. Eleven studies were identified that accessed disease-specific HL of participants, including three in diabetes HL, three in infectious disease-specific HL, two studies in dementia literacy, one in high blood pressure HL, one in postpartum depression literacy, and one in melanomarelated HL.…”