The association between loneliness and functional limitation among older adults in China: Frailty plays a mediating role

To examine the association between loneliness, frailty, and functional limitation of older adults in China and to determine the mediating role of frailty. The linear regression model and bootstrap analyses were used to test the hypothetical mediating model. A total of 4446 older adults were included in this study. Significantly positive correlations were found between loneliness and frailty (r = 0.18, p < 0.001), frailty and functional limitation (r = 0.36, p < 0.001), as well as loneliness and functional limitations (r = 0.15, p < 0.001). After adjusting the confounders, loneliness was positively associated with functional limitation (β = 0.320, p < 0.001) and frailty (β = 0.080, p < 0.001). The mediation effect of frailty accounted for 38.3 % of the total effect regarding loneliness with functional limitation, and the magnitude of mediation effect was a*b = 0.422 (95 % CI:0.301-0.520). These findings could help guide effective interventions to improve functional limitation of older adults.