Social support and cognitive function in Chinese older adults who experienced depressive symptoms: is there an age difference?

Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience

Aging Neuroscience

Xinguo Wang¹  Fei Yan²  Wei Wang²  Pengfei Wang³  Ying Wang³  Wenjia Peng³  Xiaoli Chen³  Xinya Liu³  Yurong Jing³  Meng Wang³  Yinghua Yang⁴  Shuangyuan Sun⁵  Ye Ruan⁵ 

[1] College of Public Health, Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Shanghai, China;School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China;School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China;Key Laboratory of Health Technology Assessment, National Health and Family Planning, Commission of the People’s Republic of China, Fudan University, Shanghai, China;Shanghai Center for Clinical Laboratory, Shanghai, China;Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, China;

关键词: cognitive function;    depressive symptoms;    social support;    age difference;    objective support;    subjective support;    support utilization;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnagi.2023.1175252

 received in 2023-02-27, accepted in 2023-04-19,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

ObjectiveThis study examined the moderating effect of overall social support and the different types of social support on cognitive functioning in depressed older adults. We also investigated whether the moderating effect varied according to age.MethodsA total of 2,500 older adults (≥60 years old) from Shanghai, China were enrolled using a multistage cluster sampling method. Weighted linear regression and multiple linear regression was utilized to analyze the moderating effect of social support on the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive function and to explore its differences in those aged 60–69, 70–79, and 80 years and above.ResultsAfter adjusting for covariates, the results indicated that overall social support (β = 0.091, p = 0.043) and support utilization (β = 0.213, p < 0.001) moderated the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive function. Support utilization reduced the possibility of the cognitive decline in depressed older adults aged 60–69 years (β = 0.310, p  < 0.001) and 80 years and above (β = 0.199,p  < 0.001), while objective support increased the possibility of cognitive decline in depressed older people aged 70–79 years (β = −0.189, p  < 0.001).ConclusionOur findings highlight the buffering effects of support utilization on cognitive decline in depressed older adults. We suggest that age-specific measures should be taken when providing social support to depressed older adults in order to reduce the deterioration of cognitive function.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Jing, Wang, Peng, Wang, Chen, Liu, Wang, Yan, Yang, Wang, Sun, Ruan and Wang.