Patterns of depressive symptoms among older adults living in long-term care homes in China: a latent class analysis.

BACKGROUND

Depressive symptoms among long-term care (LTC) residents are heterogeneous. This study aimed to identify latent classes of depressive symptoms among older adults in Chinese LTC homes and examine their associations with social support.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study included 329 older adults from 11 LTC homes. Depressive symptoms and social support were measured using the PHQ-9 and Perceived Social Support Scale. Latent class analysis (LCA) identified symptom patterns, and multinomial logistic regression evaluated associations with social support.

RESULTS

LCA identified three clinically interpretable classes: low depressive symptoms (54.1%), somatic-dominant depressive symptoms (22.5%), and severe-spectrum depressive symptoms (23.4%). The severe-spectrum group exhibited the highest physical dependency, multimorbidity, and social isolation. Higher levels of perceived support from family and friends were associated with lower odds of belonging to the severe-spectrum group.

CONCLUSION

Depressive symptoms in LTC residents can be described by clinically interpretable symptom patterns. Perceived social support may be relevant to depressive symptom differentiation in LTC residents and may inform psychosocial care in LTC settings.