SynthesisBMJ open2019
Social support and depression among community dwelling older adults in Asia: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 147 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
147 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 298 citations in OpenAlex.
- Functional social support and physical activity in community-dwelling older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Persistent socio-demographic inequalities in depression among older adults in China during and after COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Emotional and instrumental social support and older adults' depressive symptoms: collaborative individual participant data meta-analysis of 11 population-based studies of aging.American journal of epidemiology · 2025Pooled it
- The association of social networks and depression in community-dwelling older adults: a systematic review.Systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- The impact of food insecurity on mental health among older adults residing in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Associations between constructs related to social relationships and mental health conditions and symptoms: an umbrella review.BMC psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- The Association of Social Support and Loneliness with Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety, and Posttraumatic Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- A Mixed Methods Effectiveness Study of a Peer Support Intervention for Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial.The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Acute treatment residual depression symptoms and functional impairment among depressive patients of different age groups and education levels in China: A prospective, multicenter, randomized study.Brain and behavior · 2024Trial
- Depression and Associated Factors among Community-Dwelling Thai Older Adults in Northern Thailand: The Relationship between History of Fall and Geriatric Depression.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Correlates of social support in individuals with a diagnosis of common mental disorders and non communicable medical diseases in rural South India.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2021Trial
- Association of oral frailty, social support, and technophobia with depressive symptoms in Chinese older adults with chronic diseases: a cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Psychosocial and cognitive profiles associated with health-related quality of life and healthy aging among community-dwelling older adults: a latent profile analysis.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Risk of Depression, Anxiety, and Suicidal Behavior in Older Adults With Severe Vision Loss.Journal of vitreoretinal diseases · 2026Article
- Self-perceived frailty in older adults with hip fracture: a qualitative study.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- The association between community-based transportation use and depressive symptoms among older adults in Japan.Discover mental health · 2026Article
- Differential Associations Between Perceived Social Support and Cognition in Older Adults With and Without Multiple Sclerosis.Archives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists · 2026Article
- Perceived Social Support and Well-Being: Mediation and Buffering of the Stress-Depression Link in Rural Older Adults.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Patterns of depressive symptoms among older adults living in long-term care homes in China: a latent class analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Association between 24-h movement behaviors and psychological distress in older adults with chronic diseases: a compositional isotemporal substitution analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
87 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThis review aims to: (1) explore the social support measures in studies examining the association between social support and depression among community-dwelling older adults in Asia and (2) the evidence of association.
designA systematic review was conducted using electronic databases of CINAHL, PubMed, PsychINFO, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, SocINDEX and Web of Science for articles published until the 11th of January 2018. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: All observational studies investigating the association between social support and depression among community-dwelling older adults in Asia were included.
participantsOlder adults aged 60 years and more who are living in the community. EXPOSURE MEASURES: Social support. OUTCOME MEASURES: Depression.
resultsWe retrieved16 356 records and screened 66 full-text articles. Twenty-four observational studies were included in the review. They consisted of five cohort studies and 19 cross-sectional studies. Social support was found to be measured by multiple components, most commonly through a combination of structural and functional constructs. Perceived social support is more commonly measured compared with received social support. Good overall social support, having a spouse or partner, living with family, having a large social network, having more contact with family and friends, having emotional and instrumental support, good support from family and satisfaction with social support are associated with less depressive symptoms among community-dwelling older adults in Asia.
conclusionsThere were 20 different social support measures and we applied a framework to allow for better comparability. Our findings emphasised the association between good social support and decrease depression among older adults. Compared with western populations, family support has a greater influence on depression among community-dwelling older adults in Asia. This indicates that the family institution needs to be incorporated into designed programmes and interventions when addressing depression in the Asian context. TRIAL :
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.