Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42543491›Full record

ArticleNursing & health sciences2026

Symptom Clusters and Frailty Among Older Adults With and Without Cancer: Insights From Two Cross-Sectional Studies.

Tianxue Hou, Denise Shuk Ting Cheung, Mu-Hsing Ho, Tongyao Wang, Chia-Chin Lin

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Nursing & health sciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Tianxue HouSchool of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7204-0998
Denise Shuk Ting CheungSchool of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8741-9271
Mu-Hsing HoSchool of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9443-4082
Tongyao WangSchool of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3374-1078
Chia-Chin LinSchool of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9551-0991

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study aims to examine the relationship between symptom clusters (depressive symptoms, sleep disturbances, and pain) and frailty in older adults, with a specific focus on mediation and moderation effects. Data from two cross-sectional studies in Changsha and Hong Kong were analyzed, including nursing home residents without cancer and older adults with cancer. Study-stratified analyses were conducted in SPSS 26.0 and PROCESS, with adjustment for available covariates. Mediation tested whether sleep disturbances were indirectly associated with depressive symptoms and frailty, and moderated mediation examined whether pain severity or interference conditioned the association between depressive symptoms and sleep disturbances. In both groups, frailty, depressive symptoms, sleep disturbances, and pain were significantly associated. Sleep disturbances showed a significant indirect association between depressive symptoms and frailty in both groups. Pain interference, but not pain severity, moderated the association between depressive symptoms and sleep disturbances only among older adults without cancer. The findings highlight the importance of assessing and managing depressive symptoms, sleep disturbances, and pain-related interference when addressing frailty in older adults, particularly among those without cancer.

Indexed as

Frail ElderlyFrailtyNeoplasmsAgedAged, 80 and overCross-Sectional StudiesDepressionFemaleHong KongHumansMalePainSleep Wake DisordersSurveys and QuestionnairesSymptom Burdendepressive symptomsfrailtyolder adultspainsleep disturbancessymptom clusters

Identifiers

PMID42543491
PMCPMC13429809

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.