SynthesisPeerJ2025
Differences in depression prevalence among older adults in China before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PeerJ, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Persistent socio-demographic inequalities in depression among older adults in China during and after COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Prevalence of depression among rural older adults in Asia: a meta-analysis of observational studies.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- A Study on the Depressive Symptoms and Life Satisfaction Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in China Based on CHARLS 2020 Data.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Independent associations and isotemporal substitution analysis of 24-hour movement behaviors and depression among Chinese older adults.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Associations of serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen with depressive symptoms among community-dwelling older adults in Guangzhou, China: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Potentially inappropriate medications in older outpatients with depression: a cross-sectional study comparing the Beers criteria and the Chinese criteria.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Depressive symptoms and internet use among middle-aged and older adults pre- and post-COVID-19 outbreak: a network analysis.BMC psychology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: Changes in the prevalence of depression during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic among older adults in China have not been systematically evaluated. We aimed to systematically summarize existing evidence to conduct a meta-analysis to quantify changes in the prevalence of depression before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, PsycINFO, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WangFang Data, CQVIP, and China Biology Medicine disc (CBMdisc) databases were searched from January 1, 2017, to November 20, 2024. Studies reporting the prevalence of depression among Chinese individuals aged 60 or older using validated diagnostic tools were included. A random-effects model was applied to estimate pooled prevalence, with subgroup analyses performed by demographic and socio-economic factors. Relative risks (RR) were calculated to compare prevalence across different pandemic stages. Results: A total of 101 studies involving 264,758 participants were included. The pooled prevalence of depression among older adults was 25.8% (95% CI [21.7-29.9]) from 2017-2019 and 23.8% (95% CI [19.8-27.8]) from 2020-2023. During the early pandemic stage (January-April 2020), prevalence significantly decreased (RR = 0.849, Conclusion: Depression prevalence among older adults in China decreased during the early pandemic response but showed an increasing trend over time, reflecting the complex mental health impact of prolonged public health measures. Effective interventions are needed to address the specific needs of vulnerable subgroups during and beyond public health crises.
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