Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39976712›Full record

ArticleSocial psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology2025

The relationship between social isolation, depressive symptoms and cognitive function in older adults: a longitudinal mediation study in China.

Kerui Wang, Yinuo Zhou, Shaohui Su, Xin Jin, Lei Lei, Hao Ma, Aonan Liu, Yanfang Yang

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Article in Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

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2citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Kerui WangDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, No.17 Section 3, Renmin South Road, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China.
Yinuo ZhouDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, No.17 Section 3, Renmin South Road, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China.
Shaohui SuDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, No.17 Section 3, Renmin South Road, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China.
Xin JinDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, No.17 Section 3, Renmin South Road, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China.
Lei LeiDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, No.17 Section 3, Renmin South Road, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China.
Hao MaDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, No.17 Section 3, Renmin South Road, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China.
Aonan LiuDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, No.17 Section 3, Renmin South Road, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China.
Yanfang YangDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, No.17 Section 3, Renmin South Road, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China. yang2009@scu.edu.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeBoth social isolation and cognitive impairment are important public health issues that affect the quality of life of older adults. Our study aims to clarify the direction of their relationship and to illustrate the mediating role played by depressive symptoms.

methodsData from 5399 respondents who participated in three longitudinal surveys in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS) were analyzed. Cross-lagged panel model was used to determine the longitudinal relationship between social isolation, depressive symptoms, and cognitive function.

resultsAfter controlling for confounders, higher levels of social isolation predicted subsequent more severe cognitive function score (wave1-wave2: β = - 0.039, SE = 0.015, P = 0.009; wave2-wave3: β = - 0.057, SE = 0.017, P = 0.001), and 37.5% of this effect was mediated through depressive symptoms (β = - 0.002, SE = 0.001, P = 0.022). Similarly, lower cognitive function predicted subsequent higher social isolation (wave1-wave2: β = - 0.062, SE = 0.014, P < 0.001; wave2-wave3: β = - 0.039, SE = 0.015, P = 0.009), but depressive symptoms did not play a mediating role in this process (β = - 0.001, SE = 0.001, P = 0.072).

conclusionThere is a potential bidirectional relationship between social isolation and cognitive function in which depressive symptoms play a partially mediating role.

Indexed as

CognitionCognitive DysfunctionDepressionSocial IsolationAgedAged, 80 and overChinaFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMediation AnalysisMiddle AgedQuality of LifeCognitive functionDepressive symptomsMediation analysesSocial isolation

Identifiers

PMID39976712

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