Chronic disease comorbidities among middle-aged and elderly Chinese population with different depression levels: a network analysis on 2018 CHARLS data

ObjectiveTo understand the chronic disease comorbidities among middle-aged and elderly Chinese population with different depression levels and provide a scientific basis for optimizing depression screening and chronic disease prevention and treatment. MethodsData from 14 222 middle-aged and elderly individuals aged ≥ 45 years old were collected from the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). A complex network model was used to analyze the patterns of chronic disease comorbidities in middle-aged and elderly population with different depression levels, and Gephi 0.10.1 software was used to visualize the chronic disease comorbidity network. Results Among the 14 222 middle-aged and elderly Chinese individuals, 7 020 had chronic disease comorbidities, with a comorbidity rate of 49.36%. There were 9 066 (63.8%) individuals without depression, 4 141 (29.1%) with mild depression, and 1 015 (7.1%) with severe depression. The number of chronic disease comorbidities was 3 841, 2 463, and 716 among