Background: A depressive state is a negative emotional state characterized by abnormal dejection and unpleasant mood. Long-term depressive symptoms can result in psychological disorders such as depression. However, little is known about the depression status and risk factors of the Tibetan people on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Objective: This study explores the depression status of the Tibetan people to better promote ethnic minorities’ physical and mental health. Participants and Setting: The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was administered to 24,141 Tibetan people from Yushu Prefecture; the average age was 34.33 years (SD = 9.18, range = 18–94 years). Materials and Methods: Participants completed questionnaires collecting demographic information and evaluating symptoms of depression. Results: The depression prevalence was higher at high altitudes, and there may be a significant positive correlation between depression rates and altitude. Significant differences were found for each demographic variable. Participants with depressive symptoms (scores ≥8) accounted for 52.3% of the total sample, and participants with depression (scores ≥14) accounted for 28.6%. The binary logistic regression results showed that alcohol drinkers, unmarried participants, participants with high self-assessed socioeconomic status, participants with a high income level, and those with a middle-school education were more likely to be depressed. Conclusions: The results provide the first evidence that the prevalence of depression in Tibetans of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau is higher than that in the general Chinese population and that reported in Western studies, a finding that may be related to cultural differences and chronic hypoxia caused by the high altitude. This paper offers insight into the mental health status of people living in plateau areas and provides a basis for formulating pertinent mental health policy.

Background: With the rapid population aging, healthy aging has become a concern for society as a whole. In this study, loneliness and its relationships with activity-related individual factors were examined among older Chinese individuals from the perspective of mental health and daily leisure activities. Methods: The data were from the fourth investigation of the Sample Survey of the Aged Population in Urban and Rural China, which had a total of 220,506 participants. Activity ability was assessed by the Barthel Activity of Daily Living Index, a self-designed activity type questionnaire was used to evaluate activity participation, and loneliness was measured with a single-item question. Results: The prevalence of varying degrees of loneliness among Chinese older individuals was 36.6%. The prevalence of loneliness among the older individuals differed significantly by age gender, age, physical health status, annual household income, education level, marital status, living status, ethnic minority status, religious faith and territory of residence. There were differences in activity participation among older Chinese adults in terms of all the demographic factors mentioned above, while there were no significant differences in living status or religious faith, and significant differences in several other demographic factors in terms of activity ability. Self-care ability, as a form of activity ability, and activity participation significantly predicted loneliness among the older participants. Conclusion: The topic of loneliness among Chinese older individuals is complex and requires greater attention. The buffering effect of activity-related factors on loneliness suggests that old people should improve their activity ability and participate more in daily activities.

Depression in children and adolescents has become a serious public health problem worldwide. The objectives of this study were twofold: first, to investigate the status of depression among children and adolescents on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the highest plateau in the world, with an average altitude of more than 4200 m (13,776 feet), and second, to examine the associations among prosocial behavior, resilience, and depression. A cross-sectional study was conducted among children and adolescents from Yushu Prefecture on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. A total of 11,160 participants aged 10–17 years (M_age = 14.34 years, SD = 1.77; 51.4% girls) were included. Self-reported depression, resilience, and prosocial behavior were assessed. The prevalence of depression was 29.2% in the current study. Higher levels of prosocial behavior were significantly associated with lower levels of depression (β = −0.25, p < 0.001). Furthermore, resilience significantly moderated the relationship between prosocial behavior and depression (β = −0.08, p < 0.001); that is, resilience enhanced the protective role of prosocial behavior in depression. These findings indicate that resilience may play an important role in the associations between prosocial behavior and depression, which suggests that improving resilience is essential for the prevention and intervention of depression among children and adolescents on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

There was a small mistake in the sixth paragraph of the Discussion: the positions of two words (“positively” and “negatively”) should be exchanged