Internet use enhances mental health in adults aged ≥50 years

Internet use is associated with better mental health among adults aged ≥50 years across 23 countries, researchers from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) have shown.

According to the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study, in 2019, approximately 14 percent of people aged ≥55 years had mental disorders. “This represented 2.7 percent of disability-adjusted life-years [DALYs] in this population worldwide,” noted the researchers. [https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-results/]

The researchers developed linear mixed models and performed meta-analyses to investigate the association between Internet use and mental health in 87,559 adults aged ≥50 years from 23 middle- and high-income countries, including China, UK, the US, Brazil, and Denmark. [Nat Hum Behav 2024;doi:10.1038/s41562-024-02048-7]

Results showed that baseline Internet use was associated with reduced depressive symptoms (pooled average marginal effect [AME], -0.09; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], -0.12 to -0.07; I², 70.68 percent), higher life satisfaction (pooled AME, 0.07; 95 percent CI, 0.05–0.10; I², 72.68 percent), and better self-reported health (pooled AME, 0.15; 95 percent CI, 0.12–0.17; I² = 73.53 percent) among adults aged ≥50 years across 23 countries.

Two potential psychosocial mechanisms may explain the positive associations. “Internet use can facilitate connections with family and friends and expand social networks among middle-aged and older adults,” said Professor Qing-Peng Zhang of the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, HKU. “Additionally, Internet use allows older adults to access online information and services ... This could strengthen their self-efficacy, motivate them to seek timely medical advice and treatments, and provide valuable emotional support, all of which may improve their mental health.”

However, the protective effects varied across countries and subpopulations, and were influenced by genetic, sociodemographic, and behavioural factors.

For two countries (the US and UK) with genetic data available, positive associations were found between Internet use and improved depressive symptoms and self-reported health across three genetic risk categories, suggesting that Internet use can partially reduce the genetically determined increase in risk of mental health problems.

A higher frequency of Internet use was related to better mental health outcomes in the US, UK, and China.

Notably, Internet use was beneficial for reducing depressive symptoms in participants who were aged ≥65 years, were unmarried, had less frequent contact with others, had higher education, had lower wealth, were currently working, drank less than once a week, were physically inactive, experienced disability in activities of daily living (ADL), or had chronic conditions. “However, the subpopulation differences were significant only for physical activity [p=0.014] and ADL disability [p=0.021],” added the researchers.

“Overall, the observed heterogeneity in our study indicates the need for precision mental health promotion that matches middle-aged and older adults to interventions on the basis of their genetic, sociodemographic, and behavioural factors,” pointed out the researchers. “Our findings are relevant to public health policies and practices in promoting mental health in later life through the Internet.”