The Association Between Frailty and Depression of Older Adults with Cancer in China: The Mediating Effect of Social Support

Nannan Jiang,1 Yichen Su,1 Yanli Zhang2 1School of Nursing, Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, Anhui Province, 23000, People’s Republic of China; 2First Nursing Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, Anhui Province, 233004, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yanli Zhang, Nursing Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu, Anhui Province, 233004, People’s Republic of China, Tel/Fax +86 0552 3086047, Email [email protected]: This study aimed to explore the mediating role of social support between depression and frailty in older adults with cancer and the regulatory role of the income level.Patients and Methods: A convenient sampling method was used to select 448 older adults with cancer from the cancer-related departments of 3 hospitals in Bengbu City, Anhui Province, China. The sociodemographic and disease-related data were collected and examined using the frailty phenotype scale, social support scale, and older adults depression scale. We examined the mediating effects using Models 4 and 59 in the SPSS PROCESS 3.5 macro program.Results: Depression was negatively correlated with social support and its various dimensions (P < 0.05, r = -0.249 to -0.100). Frailty was positively associated with depression (P < 0.01, r = 0.388). The frailty was negatively correlated with the total score of social support and objective support (P< 0.01, r= = -0.232 to – 0.182). Social support partially mediated depression and frailty, with the mediating effect accounting for 15.74% of the total development. The income level regulated only the first stage path in the mediating model (B = -0.227, P< 0.001), and the mediating effect of the income level displayed individual differences.Conclusion: The frailty of older adults with cancer is associated with depression and social support. A good level of social support can alleviate depression and reduce the risk of frailty, while a low level of social support may exacerbate the vicious cycle between depression and frailty, with income levels playing a regulatory role in this process.Keywords: Depression, Frail older adults, Cancer Survivors, Social Support