ArticleBMC public health2024
The roles of health literacy and social support in the association between smartphone ownership and frailty in older adults: a moderated mediation model.
Article in BMC public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association between digital smart device use and depression among older adults: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Digital divide and health status among rural older adults in China: evidence from CHARLS.Global health action · 2026Article
- Characteristics of digital health technophobia and associated factors in older cancer patients: a latent profile analysis.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- A narrower access gap, yet persistent divides: the digital inequality among China's urban-rural older adults.BMC public health · 2026Article
- The mediating role of digital health literacy in the relationship between social support and health-promoting lifestyle among occupational populations: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Relationship between mobile phone use and multidimensional frailty: evidence from UK Biobank.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Assessment of Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older Adults Using Smartphone-Based Digital Lifelogging: A Multi-Center, Prospective Observational Study.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Observational
- Association between diversified social interaction and health among older adults in China: a longitudinal analysis by interaction type and frequency.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
- Health-Promoting Behaviors and their Associations with Frailty, Depression, and Social Support in Thai Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.Annals of geriatric medicine and research · 2025Article
- Assessing the digital health readiness questionnaire Japanese version: insights from cardiovascular patients in Japan.European heart journal. Digital health · 2025Article
- Frailty and diabetes: A study in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy.The Journal of international medical research · 2025Article
- Association between urbanization levels and frailty among middle-aged and older adults in China: evidence from the CHARLS.BMC medicine · 2025Article
- Feasibility of a Comprehensive eCoach to Support Patients Undergoing Colorectal Surgery: Longitudinal Observational Study.JMIR perioperative medicine · 2025Observational
- Eyes on Google's NotebookLM: using generative AI to create ophthalmology podcasts with a single click.Eye (London, England) · 2025Article
- Mechanism of health literacy impact on self-management behaviors in patients with chronic disease: a self-efficacy mediated model moderated by disease duration.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Digital interaction and active aging: the impact of social media use on physical activity behavior mediated by social capital and self-efficacy.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Regional differences in frailty among older adults with type 2 diabetes: a multicenter cross-sectional study in Japan.BMC geriatrics · 2024Article
- Digital Health Literacy and Self-Reported Health in Older Adults: The Role of Social Support in Internet Use.Journal of primary care & community healthArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundUnderstanding the role of smartphones to promote the health status of older adults is important in the digital society. Little is known about the effects of having smartphones on physical frailty despite its positive effect on the well-being of older adults. This study aimed to explore the association between smartphone ownership and frailty in community-dwelling older adults and its underlying mechanism.
methodsWe used data from the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study and analyzed 2,469 older adults aged 72-86 years. Frailty, health literacy, and social support were assessed by Fried's frailty phenotype, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System health literacy module, and the Enhancing Recovery in Coronary Heart Disease (ENRICHD) Social Support Instrument, respectively. The mediation model and moderated mediation model were estimated, where the mediator was health literacy and the moderator was social support, to explore the relationship between smartphone ownership and frailty.
resultsOf our study participants, 58.9% owned smartphones, and 10.9% were classified as frail. Smartphone ownership was negatively associated with frailty (β = -0.623, p < 0.001). Health literacy mediated the relationship between smartphone ownership and frailty (β = -0.154, boot confidence interval [CI] = - 0.222, - 0.096), and social support moderated the mediation effect (β = -0.010, Boot CI = - 0.016, - 0.004).
conclusionsOwning smartphones among older adults could reduce the risk of frailty. Promoting health literacy and social support among older adults with smartphones would be effective to prevent frailty.
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