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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health

Sec. Public Mental Health

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1534302

This article is part of the Research Topic Advances of lipid metabolism in neurological diseases and mental disorders View all 4 articles

Curvilinear Association Between Cardiometabolic Index and Depressive Symptoms in Individuals Aged 45 and Older: A Cross-Sectional Study of CHARLS

Provisionally accepted
SIBO HAN SIBO HAN 1,2*Yingqi Zhang Yingqi Zhang 2Bingxin Wu Bingxin Wu 2Qingyun Chen Qingyun Chen 3Zhengyuan Han Zhengyuan Han 2Jingmin Chen Jingmin Chen 4Peishan Li Peishan Li 4Meimei Xu Meimei Xu 4*
  • 1 Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
  • 2 Second Clinical Medical College, Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
  • 3 The Fourth Clinical Medical College, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen, China
  • 4 The Second Affiliated Hospital, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective This research is aimed at investigating the association between the cardiometabolic index (CMI) and depressive symptoms in Chinese population of middle and older age, using data derived from the CHARLS study. Methods Using data from 7,800 participants in the 2011-2012 wave of the CHARLS cohort, this cross-sectional analysis concentrated on examining the association between CMI and depressive symptoms, assessed through CESD-10 scores. The study utilized multivariate logistic regression, multiple linear regression, and restricted cubic spline (RCS) models to investigate the link between CMI and depression, with subgroup analyses offering further insights. Sensitivity analyses included propensity score matching and data from 8,457 participants in the 2015-2016 CHARLS wave.In fully adjusted models, higher CMI was significantly associated with an elevated risk of depression, with participants having a CMI ≥ 0.594 showing a 162% higher risk compared to those with lower CMI. The RCS analysis identified a threshold at CMI = 0.594, where participants with CMI ≥ 0.594 had a 162% elevated possibility of depression in comparison to those with CMI < 0.594 [OR = 2.62, 95% CI: 2.36-2.91].Sensitivity analyses, including propensity score matching and data from the 2015-2016 CHARLS wave, confirmed the robustness of the findings.Our analysis demonstrates that elevated CMI levels are independently correlated with a heightened likelihood of experiencing depressive symptoms, highlighting the significance of metabolic interventions in mitigating depressive tendencies in middle-aged and elderly individual.

    Keywords: Cardiometabolic index, CESD-10, Depression, middle-aged adults, Elderly, CHARLS

    Received: 25 Nov 2024; Accepted: 28 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 HAN, Zhang, Wu, Chen, Han, Chen, Li and Xu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    SIBO HAN, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
    Meimei Xu, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510000, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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