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A meta‐analysis of epidemiological studies in depression of older people in the People's Republic of China
Author(s) -
Chen R.,
Copeland J. R. M.,
Wei L.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1166(199910)14:10<821::aid-gps21>3.0.co;2-0
Subject(s) - china , epidemiology , people's republic , depression (economics) , gerontology , meta analysis , medicine , chinese people , environmental health , psychiatry , geography , pathology , archaeology , economics , macroeconomics
Background There has been little information about depression in Chinese elderly people. In order to investigate whether or not there is an excess of depression among the Chinese elderly, we have performed a meta‐analysis of the published epidemiological studies. Methods Papers published in the literature from The People's Republic of China included in the Chinese medical databases were obtained. Some additional papers collected from other sources were also included. The fixed/random effects model and Poisson model were employed for data analysis. Results There were 10 cross‐sectional studies (23 samples divided according to men/women and urban/rural subjects) giving sufficient prevalence data on depression (13 565 subjects) or depressive mood (8476 subjects). The pooled prevalence of depression was 3.86% (95%CI 3.37–4.42%), while that of depressive mood was 14.81% (14.20–15.64%). The risk of depression in the rural communities (5.07%, 3.61–7.13%) was higher than in the urban (2.61%, 2.22–3.08%). The same trends were observed for depressive mood. The patterns of risk factors were similar to those in western countries. Conclusions Chinese tradition and culture may be explanatory factors for the low prevalence, provided the methodological issues have not seriously biased the results. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.