The Relationship between Social Frailty and Depressive Symptoms in the Elderly: A Scoping Review

Background: Various studies have highlighted the correlation between social frailty and depressive symptoms in the elderly. However, evidence of how these two domains influence each other is not clear. The purpose of this scoping review is to summarize the current literature examining social frailty and depressive symptoms. Method: We conducted a scoping review allowing for the inclusion of multiple methodologies to examine the extent and range of this research topic. Result: The search initially yielded 617 results, 14 of which met the inclusion criteria. Five studies were identified from China, six were identified from Japan, two were identified from Korea, one was identified from Ghana, and one was from Asia. The evidence reviewed indicated that five studies met category 5 criteria, and the others met level 3 criteria. The findings from these studies showed that there is a significant relationship between social frailty and depressive symptoms. Conclusion: This scoping review shows that worse social frailty contributes to a significant degree of depression. Further research on screening social frailty and possible interventions in community and medical settings to prevent the elderly from developing depressive symptoms is needed.