Influence of spousal caregiving and living arrangement on depression among husband caregivers in rural China

What impact does hearing impairment have on cognitive health in older married couples in China?

Hearing impairment is a common geriatric health problem and chronic stressor, and it is associated with poor cognitive outcomes. However, little is known about the impact of hearing impairment in married couples, particularly its potential spillover effects on the cognitive health among spouses of individuals with impairment. Drawing on a stress-proliferation perspective, we used actor-partner interdependence models to examine (1) whether an individual's hearing impairment influences their spouse's cognitive function; and (2) whether AL, symptoms of depression, and social participation serve as mediators for such an association. We utilized data from the 2015 (baseline) and 2018 (3-year follow-up) waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. 4434 couples were included at baseline, and 2190 couples remained after the 3-year follow-up. Hearing impairment among married women was associated with negative impacts on their spouses' cognitive function. Symptoms of depression and social participation may have served as potential mediators in this relationship. For married men, there was no statistically significant association between hearing impairment and spouses' cognitive function. Our findings suggest that hearing impairment among one spouse can lead to negative impacts on the other, but that this effect may depend on gender. Early diagnosis and couple-based interventions for hearing impairment are important for the cognitive health of both hearing-impaired individuals and their spouses.

The temperature of internet: Internet use and depression of the elderly in China

Introduction

Depression has become one of the most prevalent mental illnesses affecting the elderly in aging countries, i. e., in countries of the world whose population is slowly aging. It has become an important topic for scientists and policymakers to analyze how best to improve the elderly's mental health and save them from depression. The aim of this paper was to investigate whether and to what extent internet use may affect depression in the elderly. The heterogeneous effects of internet use on the elderly's depression across age, gender, and occupation were also investigated.

Methods

The data used in the present study were gathered from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study that was conducted in 2018. The propensity score matching technique and the endogenous switch regression model were employed in this study to address potential endogeneity caused by both observed and unobserved factors.

Results

The results of the present study show that the elderly who are relatively young, male, well educated, live in an urban area, or have a small family are more likely to use the internet. The elderly who have healthy eyes or good eyesight, those who are not employed in the agricultural sector, or those who are retired, and those who are not eligible to receive any subsistence allowance or drink wine have a higher probability of using the internet. We also find that internet use significantly reduces the elderly's depression status by 3.370 points, which is roughly equivalent to a reduction of 37.19%. Heterogeneity analysis on internet use reveals that the health effect is particularly effective for agricultural workers, female, or the older elderly.

Conclusion

The results of the present study highlight the significant welfare effects brought about by the development of internet infrastructure. To improve the mental health of the elderly, the government should encourage them to adopt the internet. In particular, the needs of the elderly who are older, female, or have agricultural work should be paid more attention to motivate them to use the internet more to alleviate depression.