The Mediating Effect of Functional Social Support in the Pathway Between Memory and Depressive Symptoms: A Longitudinal Mediation Analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

Background Memory impairment and depressive symptoms are common in aging adults, often leading to adverse health outcomes. While memory difficulties are strongly associated with depressive symptoms, whether functional social support mediates this relation is underexplored. Objective We examined the mediating role of functional social support and assessed moderated mediation by age group and sex. Analyses were adjusted for relevant sociodemographic, health, and lifestyle covariates. Methods We utilized three timepoints of data (baseline, 3-year follow-up, and 6-year follow-up) from 5,958 participants aged 45–85 years who were enrolled in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging’s Tracking Cohort. Results Functional social support partially mediated the inverse association between memory and depressive symptoms ( β ^ a b p a t h = −0.02; β ^ c ‐ p r i m e p a t h = −0.07; β ^ c p a t h = −0.08; all p < .05; proportion mediated = 0.25). We did not observe any moderated mediation. Interventions to enhance functional social support may strengthen the inverse association between memory and depressive symptoms.