From oral frailty to quality of life：A moderated mediation

Background：To date, few studies have focused on the direct or indirect effects of oral frailty on quality of life.
Objective：This study aims to investigate the associations between oral frailty and quality of life among older adults. Additionally, to explore the mediating role of social frailty between oral frailty and quality of life, as well as the moderating role of social support pathway linking social frailty to quality of life.
Design: A descriptive and cross-sectional design.
Participants: This study recruited 1,036 older adults from Shanxi Province, China, between July 10 and November 10, 2024.
Methods: The researchers adopted the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF), Oral Frailty Index-8 (OFI-8), Social Frailty Index (SFI), and Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) as research tools to investigate the participants. After fully adjusting for all potential confounding factors, mediation analysis and moderated mediation analysis were conducted, respectively.