ArticlePloS one2025
Fear of falling and depression in older adults: The mediating role of attitudes toward aging and social networks.
Article in PloS one, 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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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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Fear of Falling, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptoms Among Older Adults in Bangladesh: Prevalence, Correlates, and Mediation Pathways.Depression and anxiety · 2026Article
- Balance bridges upstream deficits associated with falls in older adults: evidence from the National Health and Aging Trends Study Round 13 cohort.Innovation in aging · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveFalls represent a common injury among older adults, and fear of falling is a prevalent psychological stressor in this population. This study aims to investigate the relationship between fear of falling and depression in older adults, as well as the chained mediating effects of attitudes toward aging and social networks.
methodsUsing stratified cluster sampling, 1,158 adults aged 60 and older were surveyed between July and August 2022. Instruments included the Modified Fall Effectiveness Scale (MFES), Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15), Attitudes Toward Aging Questionnaire (AAQ), and Local Social Network Scale-6 (LSNS-6). Correlation analysis and mediation effect testing were conducted using SPSS 26.0 and Stata 18.0.
resultsFear of falling was positively correlated with depression (β = 0.36, p < 0.001). Attitudes toward aging (Effect = 0.13, 95% CI (0.09, 0.17)) and social networks (Effect = 0.09, 95% CI (0.05, 0.13)) served not only as independent mediators between fear of falling and depression but also as chain mediators (Effect = 0.02, 95% CI (0.01, 0.03)).
conclusionFear of falling is associated with depression in older adults through aging attitudes and social networks. Healthcare providers should prioritize addressing older adults' fear of falling and develop strategies based on this pathway to reduce the risk of depression in older adults.
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