Mediating Effects of Social Support on Depression and Suicidal Ideation in Older Korean Adults With Hypertension Who Live Alone.
Eun Jeong Nam, Jong-Eun Lee
PMID 30694222WHAT IT FOUND
In older adults with hypertension living alone, stronger social support was associated with less depression and lower suicidal thoughts.
Because the study measured people at one time, it cannot prove that support reduces risk.
Key findings
01In older adults with hypertension who lived alone, depression was negatively correlated with social support and positively correlated with suicidal ideation, while social support was negatively correlated with suicidal ideation.
02In the regression model, social support was negatively associated with suicidal ideation, and depression was not associated with suicidal ideation once social support was included.
03The analysis supported social support as a mediator between depression and suicidal ideation.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 162 of the 215 potential participants were analysed because 53 had incomplete responses. The sample was limited to older adults with hypertension who lived alone, were low-level health insurance service users or public health centre home-visiting service users in Seoul, and could communicate, so it may not apply to older adults with other health conditions, living situations, cognitive impairment, or other regions. The design was cross-sectional and correlational, so it cannot show that social support causes lower depression or suicidal ideation, or that increasing support will improve outcomes. No intervention was tested, so the paper does not show how to build social support or what type of support works.
Declared interests
No potential conflicts of interest were declared. No funding source is stated.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that improving social support will reduce depression or suicidal ideation. This was a cross-sectional survey, not an intervention study, so it shows associations only.