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BMC Geriatrics

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Open Access 01-12-2021 | Affective Disorder | Research article

Does digital technology reduce health disparity? Investigating difference of depression stemming from socioeconomic status among Chinese older adults

Authors: Aruhan Mu, Zhaohua Deng, Xiang Wu, Liqin Zhou

Published in: BMC Geriatrics | Issue 1/2021

Abstract

Background

Prior studies on health disparity have shown that socioeconomic status is critical to inequality of health outcomes such as depression. However, two questions await further investigation: whether disparity in depression correlated with socioeconomic status will become larger when depression becomes severer, and whether digital technology will reduce the disparity in depression correlated with socioeconomic status. Our study aims to answer the above two questions.

Methods

By using the dataset from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study 2015, we use quantile regression models to examine the association between socioeconomic status and depression across different quantiles, and test the moderating effect of digital technology.

Results

Our study obtains four key findings. First, the negative effects of socioeconomic status on depression present an increasing trend at high quantiles. Second, Internet usage exacerbates the disparity in depression associated with education level on average, but reduces this disparity associated with education level at high quantiles. Third, Internet usage reduces the disparity in depression associated with income on average and at high quantiles. Fourth, mobile phone ownership has almost no moderating effect on the relationship between socioeconomic status and depression.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest the potential use of digital technology in reducing disparity in depression correlated with socioeconomic status among middle-aged and aged individuals in developing countries.

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Title: Does digital technology reduce health disparity? Investigating difference of depression stemming from socioeconomic status among Chinese older adults
Authors: Aruhan Mu
Zhaohua Deng
Xiang Wu
Liqin Zhou
Publication date: 01-12-2021
Publisher: BioMed Central
Keywords: Affective Disorder
Affective Disorder
Published in: BMC Geriatrics / Issue 1/2021
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2318
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-021-02175-0

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Does digital technology reduce health disparity? Investigating difference of depression stemming from socioeconomic status among Chinese older adults

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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