Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41013301›Full record

ArticleBMC geriatrics2025

The mediating effect of activities of daily living (ADL) disability on the association between depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment in older adults: a National study.

Xuemei Yao, Dognfang Han, Qinrui Lu

Abstract read
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Article in BMC geriatrics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing 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

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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

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Observational
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Daily Living, Depressive Symptoms, and Cognition in Older Adults With Chronic Diseases.American journal of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias
    Article
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

3 authors.

Xuemei YaoGynecology department, First Affiliated Hospital, Xian Jiaotong University, Xian, China.
Dognfang HanGynecology department, First Affiliated Hospital, Xian Jiaotong University, Xian, China.
Qinrui LuGynecology department, First Affiliated Hospital, Xian Jiaotong University, Xian, China. junhuacao610@163.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNumerous studies have demonstrated a correlation between depressive symptoms and a higher likelihood of cognitive impairment among older adults. Little is known about the underlying pathway connecting these two conditions.

objectiveThis study aimed to investigate whether activities of daily living (ADL) disability potentially mediate the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive function.

methodsThis study is a cross-sectional design. A total of 6623 Chinese older adults aged 65 years and above from the 2018 China Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) were included in this study. Multiple linear regression was conducted to examine the relationships among depressive symptoms, ADL disability and cognitive function, while accounting for all confounding factors. Mediation analyses were performed to examine whether ADL disability mediated the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive function via PROCESS macro version 4.0.

resultsThe results indicated that the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive function was significantly mediated by ADL disability (estimated indirect effect = -0.040, bootstrapped SE = 0.020, bootstrapped standard 95% CI= -0.083 - -0.007), with ADL disability accounting for 7.5% of the total effect. Moreover, the mediating role of ADL disability was moderated by gender, as the interaction between depressive symptoms and gender on ADL disability was found to be significant (β=-0.102, p = 0.033, IMM: 0.005, 95%CI: 0.001-0.011). When stratified by gender, the mediating effect of ADL disability was observed exclusively in males (estimated indirect effect= -0.055, bootstrapped SE = 0.031, bootstrapped standard 95% CI= -0.123 - -0.004), with a relative proportion of 9.7%. LIMITATIONS: The causal relationship was not able to certain because of the cross-sectional design.

conclusionThis study revealed that ADL disability may partially mediate the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive function in older adults. Furthermore, the mediating effect of ADL disability was moderated by gender, and the effect was observed exclusively in males when analyzed hierarchically.

Indexed as

Activities of Daily LivingCognitive DysfunctionDepressionPersons with DisabilitiesAgedAged, 80 and overChinaCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleADL disabilityCognitive impairmentDepressive symptomsGender difference

Identifiers

PMID41013301
PMCPMC12465711

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.