The mediating role of psychological equilibrium in the relationship between dietary variety and self-reported health among older adults in rural China

Self-Reported Health (SRH) is an important covariate in health and gerontology research and may be related to dietary diversity. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze this association in a large-scale general population of rural older adults from China. It also investigates the mediating effect of the psychological equilibrium (PE) in the association between dietary variety and SRH in this population. Based on data from the 2018 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Study (CLHLS), 4,643 rural older adults were included in the study. The Dietary Variety Index was found across seven food classes using latent class analysis (LCA). We examined the factors impacting self-reported health using unordered multiple logistic regression analysis. Model 4 of the PROCESS version 4.1 software was used to evaluate the mediation impact of psychological balance. 4,643 rural seniors from the CLHLS were included in the study. Four distinct dietary variation indices (DVIs) were identified for each of the seven food categories through Latent Class Analysis. Fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, nuts, and milk significantly influenced self-reported health (SRH), according to unordered multinomial logistic regression. Positive correlations between DVI and psychological equilibrium (PE) (r = 0.052, P < 0.001), DVI and SRH (r = 0.054, P < 0.001), and PE and SRH (r = 0.220, P < 0.001) were revealed by Pearson correlation analysis. PE modifies the connection between DVI and SRH, with a significant indirect effect (β = 0.002, 95% CI = 0.001 to 0.003), according to mediation analysis. The self-reported health (SRH) of older people living in rural areas has unique classification features; fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, nuts, and milk have all been found to be important influencing factors. The relationship between psychological equilibrium (PE) and SRH is indirect. Our results emphasize how critical it is to support a varied diet in order to improve SRH in older adults living in rural areas. Furthermore, this population's psychological balance needs to be taken into consideration.