Association Between Digestive Diseases, Nighttime Sleep, and Depressive Symptoms Among the Middle-Aged and Elderly Adults: A Mediation Analysis.

Objective: To explore the mediating effect of nighttime sleep duration between digestive diseases and depressive symptoms among middle-aged and elderly adults, so as to guide clinical intervention and treatment of depression related to digestive diseases. Methods: Based on the data of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) from 2015 to 2020, difference analysis, Spearman correlation analysis, and multivariate logistic regression were conducted to analyze the relationships among digestive diseases, nighttime sleep duration, and depressive symptoms. The mediating effect model was established and tested by the Bootstrap method. Results: The prevalence rate of digestive diseases was 23.05%, and the detection rate of depressive symptoms was 35.90%. Correlation and regression analysis indicated that digestive diseases (OR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.45-1.81) and insufficient nighttime sleep (OR = 2.22, 95% CI: 2.01-2.45) significantly impacted depressive symptoms. The results of the mediating effect model showed that insufficient nighttime sleep had a partial mediating effect between digestive diseases and depressive symptoms among middle-aged and elderly adults. Conclusion: Digestive diseases can lead to insufficient nighttime sleep and promote the occurrence of depressive symptoms among middle-aged and elderly adults. Therefore, in clinical practice, when treating digestive patients with comorbid depression, the quality and duration of their nighttime sleep should not be ignored. Improving sleep conditions is expected to alleviate depressive symptoms.