Chen Chen, Tian Yu, Ni Linghao, Xu Qianjie, Hu Yaoyue, Peng Bin
School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China.
Heliyon. 2024 Jan 6;10(2):e24110. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e24110. eCollection 2024 Jan 30.
The global aging phenomenon has raised concerns about the cognitive abilities of older individuals. This study aimed to explore the relationship between social participation, depressive symptoms, and cognitive function among middle-aged and older adults.
This study utilized data from the China Longitudinal Study of Health and Retirement (CHARLS) from wave 1 to wave 4. We used linear regression and generalized estimation equations to investigate the correlation between social participation, depressive symptoms, and cognitive function. Moreover, three models were constructed by adjusting covariates, and we used the sobel test and bootstrap method to analyze the mediating effects of depressive symptoms on social activities and cognitive function.
The results of both linear regression and generalized estimation equation showed that social participation had a positive correlation with cognitive function ( < 0.05), and the impact of social participation on cognition increased with the number of social activity types. Meanwhile, depressive symptoms had a negative association with cognitive function ( < 0.05). Furthermore, there was no interaction between social participation and depressive symptoms on cognitive function. Finally, after adjusting the model, social participation could affect cognitive function by affecting depressive symptoms ( < 0.05).
The study emphasizes the mediating role of depressive symptoms in the relationship between social participation and cognitive function. Notably, no interaction was observed between social participation and depressive symptoms. These findings highlight the potential of active social participation in reducing depressive symptoms and enhancing cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults.
全球老龄化现象引发了对老年人认知能力的关注。本研究旨在探讨中老年人社会参与、抑郁症状与认知功能之间的关系。
本研究使用了中国健康与养老追踪调查（CHARLS）第1轮至第4轮的数据。我们采用线性回归和广义估计方程来研究社会参与、抑郁症状与认知功能之间的相关性。此外，通过调整协变量构建了三个模型，并使用索贝尔检验和自助法分析抑郁症状对社会活动和认知功能的中介作用。
线性回归和广义估计方程的结果均显示，社会参与与认知功能呈正相关（<0.05），且社会参与对认知的影响随着社会活动类型数量的增加而增强。同时，抑郁症状与认知功能呈负相关（<0.05）。此外，社会参与和抑郁症状对认知功能没有交互作用。最后，调整模型后，社会参与可通过影响抑郁症状来影响认知功能（<0.05）。
该研究强调了抑郁症状在社会参与和认知功能关系中的中介作用。值得注意的是，未观察到社会参与和抑郁症状之间存在交互作用。这些发现凸显了积极社会参与在减少中老年人抑郁症状和增强认知功能方面的潜力。
