ArticleInternational journal of behavioral medicine2018
Why Is Social Isolation Among Older Adults Associated with Depressive Symptoms? The Mediating Role of Out-of-Home Physical Activity.
Article in International journal of behavioral medicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 76 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sedentary behavior and physical activity are associated with risk of depression among adult and older populations: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Real-world walking and activity patterns in community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the SMART-AGE trial.European review of aging and physical activity : official journal of the European Group for Research into Elderly and Physical Activity · 2026Article
- Social Isolation and Its Influencing Factors in Maintenance Haemodialysis Patients: A Latent Profile Analysis.Journal of advanced nursing · 2026Article
- The experience of social isolation among community-dwelling older adults: a qualitative study.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Linking cardiometabolic multimorbidity to depressive symptoms in the oldest-old: results from a cross-sectional study in Germany.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Social isolation, loneliness and the relationship with serum biomarkers, functional parameters and mortality in older adults.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2025Article
- Creation and verification of a predictive nomogram model for the incidence of social isolation among China's older population.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Exercise participation and health promotion in active seniors in aging societies: keys to successful aging.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- The Cognitive Health Risk of Social Isolation Mediated by Dietary Risks: A Study with Older Korean Americans.American journal of health behavior · 2024Article
- Development and validation of a risk prediction model for older adults with social isolation in China.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Impact of neighborhood context on self-rated health among very old adults living in Germany: a cross-sectional representative study.BMC geriatrics · 2024Article
- Exploring the Relationship of Leisure Travel with Loneliness, Depression, and Cognitive Function in Older Adults.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- The Relationship Between Social Isolation and Cognitive Frailty Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: The Mediating Role of Depressive Symptoms.Clinical interventions in aging · 2024Article
- Relationship between objectively measured conversation time and social behavior in community-dwelling older adults.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Article
- Exploring the association between social isolation and utilization of primary health services by older adults: evidence from China.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- The Effect of Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Physical Activity on Depressive Symptoms of Older Adults during COVID-19: A Moderated Mediation Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Pandemic-induced increase in adjustment disorders among postpartum women in Germany.BMC women's health · 2023Article
- Exploring outdoor activity limitation (OAL) factors among older adults using interpretable machine learning.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2023Article
- Sensor-based assessment of social isolation in community-dwelling older adults: a scoping review.Biomedical engineering online · 2023Article
- Social Network and Participation in Elderly Primary Care Patients in Germany and Associations with Depressive Symptoms-A Cross-Sectional Analysis from the AgeWell.de Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSocial networks are known to be a key factor associated with late-life depression. However, there is limited knowledge about the pathways linking social isolation to mental health. It has been proposed that health-related behaviors such as physical activity represent one pathway. This study examines the way out-of-home physical activity mediates between social isolation and depressive symptoms in older adults.
methodsA subsample of 334 older adults from the ActiFE Ulm study, Germany, was randomly selected. Older adults (M = 72.6 years; 60.8% male) were interviewed at baseline and 3 years later. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Social isolation was measured using the Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS-6). Physical activity was measured by an accelerometer (activPAL) over 1 week. To identify out-of-home physical activity, a contemporary physical activity diary classified out-of-home physical activity.
resultsA cross-lagged structural equation model supported an indirect effect (β = .014, 95% CI .002 to .039) which means that being socially isolated was associated with lower levels of out-of-home physical activity, and this predicted more depressive symptoms after 3 years. However, no direct relationship was observed between social isolation from friends and neighbors at the baseline and depressive symptoms 3 years later.
conclusionsUtilizing a longitudinal study design and accounting for reverse causality, this study extends prior work linking social isolation to depression by showing that a variety of neighbor and friendship ties are linked to fewer depressive symptoms by providing occasions for out-of-home physical activity.
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