Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Association Between Trust in Physician and Depressive Symptoms Among U.S. Community-Dwelling Chinese Older Adults.

Background: Depression is a major public health concern among older adults and health care professionals play a vital role in screening and treatment. However, this process may be impeded by issues like lack of trust in physician (TIP). This study aims to examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between TIP and depressive symptoms among Chinese older adults in the Chicago area.

Methods: Data were collected through the Population Study of Chinese Elderly (PINE), a longitudinal cohort study of Chinese older adults in the greater Chicago area. A total of 2,713 Chinese older adults completed both waves of data collection. TIP was measured through the Trust in Physician scale from Anderson and Dedrick (Anderson LA, Dedrick RF. Development of the Trust in Physician scale: a measure to assess interpersonal trust in patient-physician relationships. Psychol Rep. 1990;67(3 Pt 2):1091-1100. doi:10.2466/pr0.1990.67.3f.1091) (range: 11-55). Depressive symptoms were measured through Patient Health Questionnaire-9.

Results: Every one point higher in TIP is associated with being 2% less likely to have any depressive symptoms (odds ratio [OR] 0.98, 0.97-0.99) in cross-sectional analysis. Longitudinally, every one-point increase in TIP score was associated with a 2% lower risk of depressive symptoms at Wave 2 (OR 0.98, 0.97-0.99). Improved TIP over 2 years was associated with 25% decreased risk of having any depressive symptoms at Wave 2 (OR 0.75, 0.63-0.89). Additionally, highest tertile of TIP change was associated with a 31% decreased risk of any depressive symptoms compared to lowest tertile (OR 0.68, 0.55-0.84).

Discussion: Improved TIP over 2 years is associated with less risk of experiencing depressive symptoms. Future research should examine possible pathways and routes of intervention to improve mental health among older adults.