This study aims to review the pooled prevalence of anxiety disorders among empty-nest elderly in China. Nine studies and 4245 empty-nest elders in China were included in this meta-analysis. A combined effect size with 95 percent confidence intervals was calculated to indicate the magnitude of the effect. The results indicated that the pooled prevalence of anxiety disorders among empty-nest elderly in China was 41.0% (95% confidence interval: 26%–56%). In addition, the different regions in China show different prevalence of anxiety. We speculated that the prevalence varies based on the different methods performed in the empty-nest elderly.
AzizOConstantinidesVTekkisPP, et al. (2006) Laparoscopic versus open surgery for rectal cancer: A meta-analysis. Annals of Surgical Oncology13(3): 413–424.
2.
BorensteinMHedgesLVHigginsJP, et al. (2011) Introduction to Meta-Analysis. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
3.
CaughlinJPHustonTLHoutsRM (2000) How does personality matter in marriage? An examination of trait anxiety, interpersonal negativity, and marital satisfaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology78(2): 326–336.
4.
DuPYangH (2010) China’s population ageing and active ageing. China Journal of Social Work3(2–3): 139–152.
5.
GuoYQZhangCCHuangH, et al. (2016) Mental health and related influencing factors among the empty-nest elderly and the non-empty-nest elderly in Taiyuan, China: A cross-sectional study. Public Health141: 210–217.
6.
JiaSShiYZhouH, et al. (2007) Study on anxiety state of empty nest aged people and its influencing factors in community in Shanghai city. Chinese Nursing Research21(12): 3224–3226.
7.
KadriNAgoubMEl GnaouiS, et al. (2007) Prevalence of anxiety disorders: A population-based epidemiological study in metropolitan area of Casablanca, Morocco. Annals of General Psychiatry6(1): 6.
8.
KawakamiNAbdulghaniEAAlonsoJ, et al. (2012) Early-life mental disorders and adult household income in the world mental health surveys. Biological Psychiatry72(3): 228–237.
9.
KesslerRCAmmingerGPAguilar GaxiolaS, et al. (2007) Age of onset of mental disorders: A review of recent literature. Current Opinion in Psychiatry20(4): 359–364.
10.
KesslerRCGreenbergPE (2002) The economic burden of anxiety and stress disorders. Neuropsychopharmacology67: 982–992.
11.
LiDZhangDJShaoJJ, et al. (2014) A meta-analysis of the prevalence of depressive symptoms in Chinese older adults. Arch Gerontol Geriatr58(1): 1–9.
12.
LiYLiHYueX, et al. (2013) The anxiety and its influencing factors among empty-nest elderly people in Baiyun district in Guangzhou. International Medicine and Health Guidance News21(6): 336–339.
13.
LiangYWuW (2014) Exploratory analysis of health-related quality of life among the empty-nest elderly in rural China: An empirical study in three economically developed cities in Eastern China. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes12: 59.
14.
LiangYWangLRuiG (2017) Depression among left-behind children in China. Journal of Health Psychology22(14): 1897–1905.
15.
LinWZhengPZhangS. (2008). The investigation of anxiety, depression and the influencing factors of the empty-nest elderly inpatients. Chinese Nursing Management, 8 (6): 30–32.
16.
LiuLJGuoQ (2007) Loneliness and health-related quality of life for the empty nest elderly in the rural area of a mountainous county in china. Quality of Life Research16(8): 1275–1280.
17.
LvXLJiangYHSunYH, et al. (2013) Short form 36-item health survey test result on the empty nest elderly in China: A meta-analysis. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics56(2): 291–297.
18.
MoffittTEHarringtonHCaspiA, et al. (2007) Depression and generalized anxiety disorder: cumulative and sequential comorbidity in a birth cohort followed prospectively to age 32 years. Archives of general psychiatry64(6): 651–660.
19.
RaupJLMyersJE (2014) The empty nest syndrome: Myth or reality?Journal of Counseling & Development68(2): 180–183.
20.
StangA (2010) Critical evaluation of the Newcastle-Ottawa scale for the assessment of the quality of nonrandomized studies in meta-analyses. European Journal of Epidemiology25(9): 603–605.
21.
SuDWuXNZhangYX, et al. (2012) Depression and social support between China’ rural and urban empty-nest elderly. Archives of general psychiatry55(3): 564–569.
22.
VinkDAartsenMJSchoeversRA (2008) Risk factors for anxiety and depression in the elderly: A review. Journal of Affective Disorders106(1): 29–44.
23.
WangJZhangLQiaoYZ, et al. (2012) The anxiety and its influencing factors among empty-nest elderly people in Xingtai county rural area in China. Shanxi Medical Journal41(10): 988–989.
24.
WangL (2008) Social support and mental health of the empty-nest elderly people in urban area. Chinese mental health journal22(2): 118–122.
25.
WangGHuMXiaoS, et al. (2017) Loneliness and depression among rural empty-nest elderly adults in Liuyang, China: A cross-sectional study. BMJ Open7(10): e016091.
26.
WangZShuDDongB, et al. (2013) Anxiety disorders and its risk factors among the Sichuan empty-nest older adults: A cross-sectional study. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics56(2): 298–302.
27.
WeillerEBisserbeJMaierW, et al. (1998) Prevalence and recognition of anxiety syndromes in five European primary care settings. A report from the WHO study on psychological problems in general health care. British Journal of Psychiatry34: 18–23.
28.
WuJPeiLLiG, et al. (2013) Survey on mental health of empty nesters in rural areas in Gansu. Chinese Primary Health Care27(12): 110–115.
29.
WuZ-QSunLSunY-H, et al. (2010) Correlation between loneliness and social relationship among empty nest elderly in Anhui rural area, China. Aging and Mental Health14(1): 108–112.
30.
XieJGaoYB (2009) The relationship between social support and the prevalence of depressive symptoms for empty-nest elderly living in the urban areas of China. Chinese Journal of Gerontology21(29): 2785–2786.
31.
XuJP (2012) The investigation of anxiety and depression among empty-nest elderly people in Huaxin Town, Qingpu District, Shanghai. Chinese Primary Health Care26(2): 13–14.
32.
YangTJieCZhouC, et al. (2016) Catastrophic health expenditure: A comparative analysis of empty-nest and non-empty-nest households with seniors in Shandong, China. BMJ Open6(7): e010992.
33.
YuanKYuDCaiC, et al. (2017). Frontostriatal circuits, resting state functional connectivity and cognitive control in internet gaming disorder. Addiction Biology22(3): 813–822.
34.
YuanRNgaiSS (2012) Social exclusion and neighborhood support: A case study of empty-nest elderly in urban Shanghai. Journal of Gerontological Social Work55(7): 587–608.
35.
ZhaiYYiHWeiS, et al. (2015) Association of empty nest with depressive symptom in a Chinese elderly population: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Affective Disorder187: 218–223.
36.
ZhangLHouJJQiaoQZ. (2011). Study on anxiety state of empty-nest elderly people and its infiuencing factors in Xingtai county rural area. Shanxi Medical Journal40 (8): 745-746.
37.
ZhangYYoungDLeeS, et al. (2002) Chinese Taoist cognitive psychotherapy in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder in contemporary China. Transcultural Psychiatry39(1): 115–129.
