ArticleBMC public health2025
Study on the relationship between depressive symptoms and Internet use in the older adults under the background of population aging-evidence based on CHARLS 2018 and 2020.
Article in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Association between digital smart device use and depression among older adults: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Identifying depression in middle-aged and older adults stratified by chewing ability using machine learning models: a nationwide cross-sectional study in China.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Can sports consumption cities reduce residents' medical expenditures? Evidence from China.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Bridging the digital health divide: digital endowment, informal social participation, and health inequality among older adults.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Exploring the relationship between smartphone use diversity and depressive symptoms among older adults.BMC public health · 2025Article
- The effect of cognitive function heterogeneity on depression risk in older adults: a stratified analysis based on functional status.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- The Association Between Internet Use and Mental Health Among Empty-Nest Elderly: A Cross-Sectional Study.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financingArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundResearch has identified the effect of Internet use on depressive symptoms, where as the results remain controversial. Given the fact that both Internet use and depressive symptoms are in dynamic change, this paper focuses on the relationship between depressive symptoms and Internet use among Chinese elderly people in the context of population aging, which could generate targeted policy recommendations aimed at safeguarding the healthy development of older adults and provide an important basis for the government to build a more inclusive aging society.
methodsA total of 15,637 samples were extracted for analyses using CHARLS (China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study) data after matching the 2018 and 2020 data by sample-identified correlation IDs (including ID, household ID, and community ID). The matching was intended to reduce the potential for confounding variables that could arise if the two datasets included different individuals, and make it easier to draw conclusions about the relationship between depressive symptoms and Internet use over time for the consistent people. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 28.0 and STATA software. Measurement data were expressed as
resultsOlder adults with greater device ownership had less severer depressive symptoms (P < 0.001) and those without Internet access (P < 0.05) had severer depressive symptoms. Older adults who didn't use mobile phones to pay (P < 0.001) and didn't use WeChat (P < 0.05) or post to their friends (P < 0.001) had severer depressive symptoms. The impact of Internet use was more evident among older adults who self-assessed health very good, were relatively younger, urban, and in marriage (P < 0.05).
conclusionsInternet use might have a significant impact on depressive symptoms among older adults in the context of population aging.
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