Depressive symptoms and mild behavioral impairment among patients with late-life depression in nursing homes: the mediating and moderating effects of sleep quality and social support

OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to develop a moderated mediating model to assess the potential mechanisms underlying the roles played by sleep quality and social support in the relationship between depressive symptoms and mild behavioral impairment among patients with late-life depression in nursing homes. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. We used PROCESS macro models to construct a moderated mediating model for pathway analysis. RESULTS: The relationships between depressive symptoms, sleep quality, and mild behavioral impairment were moderated by social support. Under the condition of low social support, depressive symptoms and poor sleep had a significant positive predictive effect on mild behavioral impairment; the effect values were 0.332 and 0.405, P < 0.001. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings can help healthcare providers better develop targeted interventions to address sleep disorders, and build a sound social support system to reduce the occurrence of mild behavioral impairment in the elderly people.