Associations of social jetlag with depressive symptoms among adults in Southern China: a cross-sectional study

To investigate the associations between social jetlag and depressive symptoms and further analyze the interaction of social jetlag and chronic diseases on depressive symptoms among adults. Data were derived from a cross-sectional survey. Information on social jetlag, depressive symptoms, demographic characteristics, lifestyles, and health situations were collected via a structured self-administered questionnaire. The multivariable logistic regression analyses and restricted cubic splines regression were performed to test the association between social jetlag and depressive symptoms. The multiplicative model was applied to analyze the interaction of social jetlag and chronic disease on depressive symptoms. A total of 5818 adults were included and the prevalence of social jetlag was 22.95%. After multivariable adjustment, adults who experienced more than 2 hours of social jetlag had a significantly greater risk of depressive symptoms (OR = 1.43,95%CI:1.00-2.05, P = 0.049). Compared with participants having<1 hour of social jetlag and no chronic disease, participants having chronic disease were more likely to report depressive symptoms(OR = 3.22,95%CI = 2.59-4.00, P < 0.001). Moreover, among those who have chronic disease, the greater the social jetlag they reported, the greater risk of depressive symptoms they have (OR = 3.81,95%CI = 2.77-5.33, P < 0.001; OR = 4.08,95%CI = 2.24-7.43, P < 0.001). Social jetlag was linearly associated the with risk of depressive symptoms, according to restricted cubic splines. This study shows that 22.95% adults experience more than 1 hour of social jetlag. Social jetlag was positively associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms. Among those who have chronic disease, the greater the social jetlag they reported, the greater risk of depressive symptoms they have.