Association of unmet long-term care needs with depression and anxiety among older adults in urban and rural China

This study examined the association of unmet long-term care (LTC) needs with depression and anxiety in older adults and explored urban-rural disparities. Cross-sectional data for 1896 respondents with a mean age of 91.58 years was from the 2018 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). Depression and anxiety were assessed using the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10) and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), respectively. Unmet LTC needs were self-reported by older adults with functional limitations. Research methods included regression analyses, decomposition analyses, sensitivity analyses. Results showed that unmet LTC needs, depression, anxiety were more severe in rural older adults. Unmet LTC needs were significantly and positively related to depression and anxiety, but their associations with CESD-10 scores, depressive and anxiety symptoms were stronger in urban older adults. Urban-rural disparities in unmet LTC needs explained about 20%-40% of disparities in depression and anxiety. The findings highlighted the role of meeting LTC needs in reducing depression and anxiety, and that LTC policymakers should not ignore the needs of urban older adults and focus solely on rural older adults.