A chain mediation model reveals the association between depression and cognitive function in the elderly

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between depression, cognitive function, social activities and activities of daily living ( ADL ), and verify whether social activities and ADL have a chain mediating effect between depression and cognitive function. Using the data of the fourth phase of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study ( CHARLS ), 7547 elderly samples were studied. Correlation analysis and Bootstrap method were used to analyze the data to test whether social activities and ADL played a chain mediating role between depression and cognitive function in the elderly. In this study, the direct effect of depression on the cognitive function of the elderly accounted for 36.85% of the total effect. The indirect effects of social activities and ADL on depression and cognitive function of the elderly accounted for 15.99% and 44.64% of the total effects, respectively. At the same time, the chain mediating effect of social activities and ADL was significant, accounting for 2.44% of the total effect. The effect of depression on the cognitive function of the elderly is achieved through social activities, ADL and the chain mediating effect of social activities and ADL.