The multiple mediating effects of social support and depressive symptoms on the relationship between frailty and cognitive function in older patients with heart failure: A cross-sectional study

AIMS: The aim of this study was to test the multiple mediating effects of social support and depression symptoms on the relationship between frailty and cognitive function in older patients with heart failure. METHODS AND RESULTS: We used a convenience sampling method to recruit 444 older patients with heart failure who met the inclusion criteria from a university-affiliated general hospital. Multiple mediation analyses revealed that the relationship between frailty and cognitive function was influenced by social support (effect: -0.383, 95% CI [-0.774, -0.072]) and depressive symptoms (effect: -0.349, 95% CI [-0.710, -0.134]) both individually and in tandem (effect: -0.276, 95% CI [-0.591, - 0.106]). CONCLUSION: Social support and depressive symptoms are multiple mediators of the relationship between frailty and cognitive function. Healthcare providers should implement interventions that focus on maximizing social return and minimizing depressive symptoms to mitigate the decline in cognitive function.