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Combined effect of vision and hearing impairment on depression in elderly Chinese
- Authors:
- CHOU Kee-Lee, CHI Iris
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 19(9), September 2004, pp.825-832.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Sensory impairment and depression are common in old age and the relation between depression and vision as well as hearing impairment have been established. However, few studies have directly compared their effects and examined the impact of dual sensory loss. The purpose of this study is to compare impacts of self-reported hearing and vision loss as well as the effect of double sensory impairment on depression. This article analyzes cross-sectional data collected from a representative community sample of 2,003 Chinese elderly people aged 60 or above in Hong Kong. Respondents were interviewed in a face-to-face format and data including vision and hearing impairment, socio-demographic variables, health indicators, family support, and depression were obtained. Logistic regression analyses revealed that visual impairment was significantly related to depression even after age, gender, marital status, education, self-reported health status, the presence of 11 diseases, functional limitation and family support were controlled but hearing loss was not. Hearing impairment did not add to the likelihood of depression where visual impairment was already present. The impact of visual impairment on psychological well-being among elderly Chinese is more robust than hearing loss. Therefore, aged care service practitioners must take this risk factor into consideration in their preventive intervention and treatment for psychological well-being.
Leisure participation amongst Hong Kong Chinese older adults
- Authors:
- CHOU Kee-Lee, CHOW Nelson W. S., CHI Iris
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 24(4), July 2004, pp.617-629.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Gerontologists have recognised the important influence of leisure activity on the mental and physical health of older adults. To date, however, there have been few studies of the patterns of participation in leisure activity among older adults in Hong Kong. This study examines a large representative sample of Hong Kong older adults and the associations between their socio-economic and health characteristics and their leisure activities. The data are from a cross-sectional survey of 2,180 respondents aged 60 or more years, conducted in 2000 by the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department. There were full records for 2,144 respondents. Among the participation rates in the seven categories of leisure activities, watching television or listening to radio was the highest, while the lowest was for playing mahjong or cards. The characteristics that significantly correlated with the level of participation differed by the activity. Although no consistent pattern emerged, gender, education, employment status, receiving welfare benefits, self-rated health and functional impairment were the strongest correlates for most types of leisure activity. The paper is concluded by comparing the results with previous findings, and by discussing the service implications of the findings, the limitations of the study, and directions for future research.
Childlessness and psychological well-being in Chinese older adults
- Authors:
- CHOU Kee-Lee, CHI Iris
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 19(5), May 2004, pp.449-457.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Childless older adults will increase rapidly in the coming future due to delayed marriage, infertility, and high divorce rate. The authors examined whether childlessness is significantly related to loneliness and depression and whether the effect of childlessness persisted even when other factors including gender, marital status, age, education, self-rated health status and financial strain were controlled for. This article analyzes cross-sectional data collected from a representative community sample of 2003 Chinese elderly people aged 60 or above in Hong Kong. Respondents were interviewed in face-to-face format and data including socio-demographic variables, health indicators, loneliness and depression were obtained. Logistic regression analyses revealed that childlessness was significantly related to loneliness and depression even after marital status, gender, age, education, self-reported health status, and financial strain were controlled for. The impact of childlessness on psychological well-being among elderly Chinese is more robust than that found in older Americans. Moreover, consistent with the findings of previous studies, we found that the effect of childlessness on psychological well-being has to be investigated in the context of marital status. Therefore, aged care service practitioners must take this risk factor into consideration in their preventive intervention and treatment for psychological well-being.