Objective:To investigate the bidirectional relationship between physical and mental health among the middle-aged and elderly population,so as to promote healthy ageing in China.Methods:Using data from the 2011-2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS)and taking activity of daily living and depression as physical and mental health indica-tors,dynamic panel models were fitted to examine the bidirectional relationship between physical and mental health.Results:Through longitudinal data analysis of 13647 respondents in China,there were significant reciprocal effects between physical and mental health after controlling for the dynamic nature of health status,indicating that they were closely inter-connected in the de-velopment of individual health.There was also evidence that mental health had a stronger effect(β=0.138,P<0.001)on subse-quent physical health than did the inverse(β=0.119,P<0.001),and this was especially true among females.Conclusion:Physi-cal and mental health should be treated jointly instead of separately for a comprehensive and dynamic understanding of individual health.It is vital to pay full attention to the spillover effect of mental health on physical health,especially the elevated risk of mental problems among the middle-aged and elderly women.
Mental HealthPhysical HealthMiddle-aged and Elderly People
NETL
NSTL
维普
万方数据
