The association between multimorbidity patterns and physical frailty among middle-aged and older community-dwelling adults: the mediating role of depressive symptoms.
IF 3 3区 医学Q2 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
Yuhan Geng, Ming Zhou, Yangxiaoxue Liu, Tianshu Zhao, Jiali Zhang, Min Xin, Wenxin Wang, Gongzi Zhang, Liping Huang
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: This study aimed to investigate the association between multimorbidity and frailty, and the potential mediating role of depressive symptoms in Chinese middle-aged and older community-dwelling adults.
Methods: We selected a total of 5,232 adults with two or more chronic diseases from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) database. Clusters of participants with similar multimorbidity patterns were identified through fuzzy c-means cluster analyses. The cross-sectional association between multimorbidity and frailty was measured through logistic regression analyses. Mediation analysis was applied to examine direct and indirect associations within the counterfactual framework.
Results: At baseline, we identified five multimorbidity patterns. Two of these patterns significantly increased the risk of frailty compared to a non-specific pattern. Depression mediated 35.20% of the effect of multimorbidity on frailty (p = 0.042). Notably, in adults aged 60 years and older, this mediation accounted for 69.84% of the total effect, surpassing the direct impact of multimorbidity on frailty. Among individuals with economic support (0.020, 95% CI: 0.002-0.040), high school education (0.062, 95% CI: 0.007-0.120), and no alcohol consumption (0.024, 95% CI: 0.003-0.050), depression entirely mediated the impact of comorbidities.
Conclusion: This study reveals strong links between specific multimorbidity patterns and physical frailty, with depression significantly mediating these effects, particularly in certain populations. Findings emphasize tailored mental health interventions' necessity in specific groups.
期刊介绍：
Frontiers in Public Health is a multidisciplinary open-access journal which publishes rigorously peer-reviewed research and is at the forefront of disseminating and communicating scientific knowledge and impactful discoveries to researchers, academics, clinicians, policy makers and the public worldwide. The journal aims at overcoming current fragmentation in research and publication, promoting consistency in pursuing relevant scientific themes, and supporting finding dissemination and translation into practice.
Frontiers in Public Health is organized into Specialty Sections that cover different areas of research in the field. Please refer to the author guidelines for details on article types and the submission process.
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