ArticleBMC geriatrics2024
Association between Internet use and depressive symptoms among older adults in two regions of Myanmar: a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMC geriatrics, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.
- The association between internet use and cognition in older adults: empirical analysis based on CLASS 2023.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Is dancing with care a possible solution to problematic smartphone use among middle-aged and older adults? A cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Internet use and self-rated health among Chinese older adults: the role of social engagement and social support.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
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Abstract
backgroundInternet use has both positive and negative effects on mental health. However, few studies have examined the association between internet use and mental health among older adults in developing countries. This study aimed to investigate the association between Internet use and depressive symptoms among older adults in two regions of Myanmar.
methodsData based on a visit to 1,200 older adults in urban and rural Myanmar were obtained through stratified random sampling using the cross-sectional baseline survey of the longitudinal study titled "Healthy and Active Aging in Myanmar." Our analysis included 1,186 participants. The dependent variable was depressive symptoms, and the 15-item version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was used as a continuous variable; the higher the score, the more likely a person was to be depressed. Internet use (one of the questions about household property ownership) was used as an independent variable. After confirming the absence of multicollinearity, we adjusted for age, gender, educational background, activities of daily living, residential area, and frequency of meeting friends, and stratified by subjective economic status (above or below average). We also examined the interaction between internet use and subjective economic status. A linear regression analysis was performed.
resultsAmong the 1,186 participants included in the analysis (women: 59.5%; median age: 68 years old), 202 (17.0%) were Internet users (95% Confidential Interval [CI]: 0.15, 0.19), and they had significantly lower GDS scores than the participants who did not use the Internet (B: -1.59, 95% CI: -2.04, -1.13).GDS showed a negative association with Internet use even in the multivariate analysis (B: -0.95, 95% CI: -1.41, -0.50). However, the interaction term for GDS between Internet use and subjective economic status was not significantly associated (B: 0.43, 95% CI: -1.11, 1.98).
conclusionsInternet use and depressive symptoms were associated especially among the older adults. However, there were no significant interaction between Internet use and subjective economic status for GDS.
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