Association of stressful life events with subjective age and the mediating role of depression: A cross-sectional study of older adults in China

Xiaoting Liu; Jie Lin; Jiaming Shi; Qi Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2024.111979

Association of stressful life events with subjective age and the mediating role of depression: A cross-sectional study of older adults in China

J Psychosom Res. 2024 Nov 14:188:111979. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2024.111979. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Xiaoting Liu¹, Jie Lin², Jiaming Shi³, Qi Zhao⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Institute of Wenzhou, Zhejiang University, Wenzhou, China.
² School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
³ School of Public Administration, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, China.
⁴ Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore. Electronic address: qizhao97@u.nus.edu.

PMID: 39566422
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2024.111979

Abstract

Objective: While previous studies have examined the relationship between stressful life events (SLEs) and subjective age (SA), the results were inconclusive and the mechanisms linking the association were unclear. This study investigated whether the experience of SLEs was associated with an older SA and the potential mediating role of depression linking this association in a cross-sectional study of older adults in China.

Methods: Data were drawn from the 2018 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS), comprising 7643 participants aged 60 and older. The association between SLEs and SA was examined using multivariate linear regression, and the mediation effect of depression was evaluated.

Results: Experiencing SLEs over the past year was associated with a 0.018 increase in proportional felt age (95 % CI: 0.012, 0.024) and a 0.011 increase in proportional look age (95 % CI: 0.005, 0.016), respectively. Depression appeared to be a significant mediator, accounting for 22.2 % and 27.3 % of the association of SLEs with proportional felt age and proportional look age, respectively.

Conclusion: Findings revealed that having SLEs was associated with an older SA, partially through the pathway of depression. More attention and appropriate intervention should be given to the older adults incurring SLEs to prevent the adverse effect of older SA.

Keywords: China; Depression; Older adults; Stressful life events; Subjective age.