Hou Ping, Xue Huiping, Zhang Yu, Ping Yujie, Zheng Yijiang, Wang Yan, Yao Zhenshuai, Xie Xinyi, Dai Hua, Liu Yongbing
School of Nursing and School of Public Health, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225000, China.
Nagano College of Nursing, Nagano 399-4117, Japan.
Brain Sci. 2022 Oct 4;12(10):1341. doi: 10.3390/brainsci12101341.
This study aims to explore the mediating role of loneliness between depressive symptoms and cognitive frailty among older adults in the community.
A total of 527 community-dwelling older adults aged ≥ 60 years were included in this cross-sectional study. A five-item geriatric depression scale was used to assess depression symptoms. Then, an eight-item University of California at Los Angeles Loneliness Scale was used to assess loneliness. Moreover, the FRAIL scale and Mini-Mental State Examination were used to assess cognitive frailty. Furthermore, regression and bootstrap analyses were used to explore the mediating role of loneliness in depression symptoms and cognitive frailty.
Loneliness mediates the association between depression symptoms and cognitive frailty (95% CI = 0.1640.615), and after adjusting for loneliness, the direct effect is no longer significant (95% CI = -0.1131.318, = 0.099).
Results show that the effect of cognitive frailty is not depression symptoms but loneliness. All levels of society (the government, medical institutions, and communities) need to pay more attention to the mental health of the older adults, screen for loneliness, and take timely intervention and treatment measures. They should also build an age-friendly society and promote active aging.
本研究旨在探讨社区老年人中孤独感在抑郁症状与认知衰弱之间的中介作用。
本横断面研究纳入了527名年龄≥60岁的社区居住老年人。使用五项老年抑郁量表评估抑郁症状。然后，使用加利福尼亚大学洛杉矶分校孤独量表的八项版本评估孤独感。此外，使用衰弱量表和简易精神状态检查表评估认知衰弱。此外，采用回归分析和Bootstrap分析探讨孤独感在抑郁症状和认知衰弱中的中介作用。
孤独感介导了抑郁症状与认知衰弱之间的关联（95%置信区间=0.1640.615），在调整孤独感后，直接效应不再显著（95%置信区间=-0.1131.318，P=0.099）。
结果表明，认知衰弱的影响因素不是抑郁症状，而是孤独感。社会各界（政府、医疗机构和社区）需要更加关注老年人的心理健康，筛查孤独感，并及时采取干预和治疗措施。还应建设对老年人友好的社会，促进积极老龄化。
