Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40376054›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in public health2025

The association between multimorbidity patterns and physical frailty among middle-aged and older community-dwelling adults: the mediating role of depressive symptoms.

Yuhan Geng, Ming Zhou, Yangxiaoxue Liu, Tianshu Zhao, Jiali Zhang, Min Xin, Wenxin Wang, Gongzi Zhang, Liping Huang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing 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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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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

9 authors.

Yuhan Geng *Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, China.
Ming Zhou *Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, China.
Yangxiaoxue LiuDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Tianshu ZhaoDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Jiali ZhangDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Min XinDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Wenxin WangDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Gongzi ZhangDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Liping HuangDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

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 ( 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.

Indexed as

DepressionFrailtyIndependent LivingMultimorbidityAgedAged, 80 and overChinaChronic DiseaseCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle Agedcluster analysisdepressive symptomsfrailtymediation analysismultimorbidity

Identifiers

PMID40376054
PMCPMC12078149

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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 Socratic graph.