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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Psychology of Aging
Volume 16 - 2025 |
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1491382
Number of Chronic Diseases and Cognitive Function among the Elderly in China：A Moderated Mediation Model
Provisionally accepted
Xiaoling Feng 
Jie Peng * Xiaoying Cao *
Lichong Lai Dongmei Huang *
Pinyue Tao Xiao Pan * Qini Pan * Dejing Fan * Shuyu Lu *
Caili Li Yanfei Pan * Pengxin Dong * Haichen Wu * Yidan Chai * Ping Huang * Huiqiao Huang *- Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
Purpose: Despite the wealth of data on the role of chronic disease comorbidity in shaping cognitive dysfunction in older adults, a comprehensive view of this dynamic interplay remains a frontier. This study will reveal the intricate interactions between the number of chronic diseases and cognitive function in the elderly, based on the perspective of cognitive function in patients with multiple chronic diseases.Methods: Our study was based on the data from the 2023 China Psychological Care for the Elderly Action Survey, and the SPSS 26.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) software package was used for mediation model analysis.The approach encompassed descriptive analysis of variables, Spearman's correlation analyses to explore associations between variables, and a moderated mediation analysis.The study found that the number of chronic diseases (r=0.183, P < 0.001) was positively correlated with cognitive function. Anxiety and depression partially mediated the relationship between the number of chronic diseases and cognitive function (β=0.227, 0.235, both P < 0.001). Age moderated the association between the number of chronic diseases and depression (β=0.010, P < 0.001).This study provides a comprehensive mediation model that establishes a new association between the number of chronic diseases and cognitive function in older adults. It suggests that we should pay attention to the negative impact of multiple chronic diseases on cognitive function of the elderly and improve their psychological coping ability, so as to ensure the stable development of healthy aging.
Keywords: ：The elderly, chronic diseases, Cognitive Function, Mental Health, Effect of mediation
Received: 04 Sep 2024; Accepted: 20 Jan 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Feng, Peng, Cao, Lai, Huang, Tao, Pan, Pan, Fan, Lu, Li, Pan, Dong, Wu, Chai, Huang and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jie Peng, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
Xiaoying Cao, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
Dongmei Huang, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
Xiao Pan, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
Qini Pan, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
Dejing Fan, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
Shuyu Lu, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
Yanfei Pan, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
Pengxin Dong, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
Haichen Wu, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
Yidan Chai, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
Ping Huang, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
Huiqiao Huang, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
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