SynthesisBMC geriatrics2025
Effects of social support interventions on depressive symptoms and quality of life among older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC geriatrics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Social support as leverage? A quantitative study of social support as a mediator of the relationship between disability/activity limitations and psychological distress among young adults in Ghana.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Active aging profiles mediate the effect of social support on subjective well-being among community-dwelling older adults: a latent profile mediation analysis.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Cultural competence in dementia care: Care workers and managers perspectives on physical and social environments in Long-Term Care.PloS one · 2026Article
- Associations of sarcopenia with depression and suicidal ideation: the sex-specific mediating role of loneliness.BMC geriatrics · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundInterventions that include participation in social or group connections as measures to prevent or reduce depression have received little attention. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the effects of social support interventions on depressive symptoms and Quality of life (QoL) among older adults.
methodsA detailed search of six databases comprising Medline, CINAHL, PubMed, Cochrane Library, African Journals Online and Web of Science Core Collections was conducted until January 2025. A review protocol was developed and registered with the PROSPERO database (ID-CRD42021283342). A meta-analysis was used to synthesize the findings of the included studies based on subgroups of social support interventions. Of the 1524 articles found from the six databases, only 16 randomised controlled trials (14 parallel and 2 cluster) were eligible for inclusion.
conclusionSocial support interventions included emotional support, social engagement, instrumental, instrumental and appraisal, and social engagement and appraisal support. Meta-analysis findings indicated that social support interventions had non-significant effects on depression and QoL among older adults. Social support interventions have the potential to reduce depressive symptoms and improve QoL. However, current evidence is insufficient to determine the impact of social support interventions on depression and QoL in older adults.
Indexed as
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
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.