The Association Between Frailty and Depression of Older Adults with Cancer in China: The Mediating Effect of Social Support.

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the mediating role of social support between depression and frailty in older adults with cancer and the regulatory role of the income level.

Patients and methods: A convenient sampling method was used to select 448 older adults with cancer from the cancer-related departments of 3 hospitals in Bengbu City, Anhui Province, China. The sociodemographic and disease-related data were collected and examined using the frailty phenotype scale, social support scale, and older adults depression scale. We examined the mediating effects using Models 4 and 59 in the SPSS PROCESS 3.5 macro program.

Results: Depression was negatively correlated with social support and its various dimensions (P < 0.05, r = -0.249 to -0.100). Frailty was positively associated with depression (P < 0.01, r = 0.388). The frailty was negatively correlated with the total score of social support and objective support (P< 0.01, r= = -0.232 to -0.182). Social support partially mediated depression and frailty, with the mediating effect accounting for 15.74% of the total development. The income level regulated only the first stage path in the mediating model (B = -0.227, P<0.001), and the mediating effect of the income level displayed individual differences.

Conclusion: The frailty of older adults with cancer is associated with depression and social support. A good level of social support can alleviate depression and reduce the risk of frailty, while a low level of social support may exacerbate the vicious cycle between depression and frailty, with income levels playing a regulatory role in this process.