The Effects of Social Capital on Depressive Symptoms of Elderly Patients with Chronic Diseases in Urbanized Communities

  Objective  To understand the effects of social capital on depressive symptoms of elderly patients with chronic diseases in urbanized communities, and to explore preventive measures to promote their mental health.

  Methods  A multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method was used to extract 740 elderly patients with chronic diseases in the urbanized communities in Chengdu and Kunming. The questionnaire survey was conducted by using the center of depression rating scale (CES-D) and the self-made social capital scale. Multivariate unconditional logistic regression was used to analyze the impact of urbanized residents' social capital on depressive symptoms.

  Results  The self-made social capital scale has good reliability and validity. The incidence of depressive symptoms in this study was 24.9%. The incidence of depressive symptoms in elderly females with chronic diseases was higher (P < 0.05); the residents with high "sense of social trust and security" had lower risk of incidence of depressive symptoms 〔odds ratio (OR)=0.489〕; the residents with higher "community belonging" had a lower risk of incidence of depressive symptoms (OR=0.570), and the residents with higher "social support" scores had a lower risk of incidence of depressive symptoms (OR=0.233).

  Conclusion  Targeted measures should be taken to intervene in the social capital factors affecting the depressive symptoms of elderly patients with chronic diseases in urbanized communities to improve their mental health.