Association Between Intergenerational Relationship With Adult Children and Anxiety-Depression Comorbidity Symptoms in...

The phenomenon of global aging is becoming increasingly salient, and the mental health of older women requires greater attention. However, there is a conspicuous paucity in the exploration of anxiety-depression comorbidity patterns among Chinese older women, as well as the correlation between intergenerational relationships with adult children and these comorbid conditions.

About 20,153 older women aged 65 years or above from the China Aging and Health Survey (CAHS) were included in the study. Depression and anxiety were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) Questionnaire, respectively. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was utilized to identify subgroups of older women exhibiting similar patterns of symptoms. To examine the association between intergenerational relationships with adult children and the comorbid patterns of anxiety and depression, multinomial logistic regression was employed. Finally, stratified analyses were conducted to perform sensitivity testing.

LPA revealed three profiles: low (n = 13,658), moderate (n = 5762), and high comorbidity (n = 733). Poorer intergenerational relationships with adult children significantly increased odds of moderate (odds ratio [OR] = 1.079, 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.045-1.114) and high comorbidity (OR = 1.187, 95% CI:1.006-1.275) versus the low-comorbidity group after covariate adjustment. Stratified analyses confirmed robustness.

Anxiety-depression comorbidity patterns in older women can be classified into three categories: low, moderate, and high comorbidity. Moreover, intergenerational relationships with adult children are associated with these comorbid patterns, with more frequent interactions corresponding to lower levels of comorbidity.