Trial reportFrontiers in public health2026
Square dance as a cultural practice: a mediating pathway of social participation toward well-being in older adults.
Trial report in Frontiers in public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- The Effects of Social Dance on Muscular Fitness and Longevity-Related Circulating Biomarkers in the Elderly.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Population aging poses significant challenges to psychological well-being, with depression and social isolation highly prevalent among older adults. Square dance (guangchangwu), a culturally embedded group physical activity widely practiced in China, has been associated with mental health benefits; however, the mechanisms underlying these effects remain insufficiently understood. This study examined whether social participation mediates the relationship between square dance participation and well-being outcomes among older adults. Methods: A 12-week, community-based, single-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted with 150 community-dwelling adults aged 60-79 years in Zhengzhou, China. Participants were randomly assigned to a square dance intervention group ( Results: Compared with controls, the square dance group showed significantly greater improvements in social participation (Δ = +3.28), subjective well-being (Δ = +5.73), and reductions in depressive symptoms (Δ = -3.85) (all Discussion: Square dance participation significantly enhanced psychological well-being and reduced depressive symptoms among older adults, with social participation statistically accounting for part of the intervention effect. However, because mediator and outcomes were assessed at the same post-intervention time point, causal ordering cannot be definitively established. These findings highlight the importance of culturally meaningful, group-based physical activities as scalable strategies for promoting mental health and social integration in aging populations.
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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.