ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1604582
This article is part of the Research TopicDiagnosis and Treatment in Age-related musculoskeletal disordersView all 10 articles
How social factors relate to arthritis risk in Chinese older adults: population-based evidence
Provisionally accepted
- 1The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
- 2Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
- 3Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Background: Arthritis prevalence is rising among older adults globally, including in China, where the aging population is increasing. Social factors, such as social networks, participation, and support, have been associated with inflammation response. However, limited research has explored how these factors affect arthritis in Chinese older adults. This study aimed to examine the association between social factors and arthritis risk using data from the 2017-2018 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS).Methods: A total of 15854 individuals aged 60 and above were included. Arthritis status was assessed through self-reports, and key social factors -social network size, social participation, and social support were measured. Binary logistic regression models were used to analyze associations, adjusting for demographic and health-related variables.Results: A larger social network was associated with a lower risk of arthritis (OR=0.963, P=0.015). Higher social participation, however, was associated with a higher risk (OR=1.027, P=0.007). Emotional support demonstrated a protective effect (OR=0.963, P=0.006), while instrumental support showed no significant impact. A significant interaction between social participation and emotional support (P=0.008) indicated that emotional support mitigates the elevated risk of arthritis associated with high social participation.Social factors play a crucial role in arthritis risk among older adults. While broader social networks and emotional support appear beneficial, increased social participation may contribute to higher risk. These findings highlight the need for tailored interventions to promote healthy aging.
Keywords: social factors, older adults, Arthritis, Social Participation, Emotional support
Received: 02 Apr 2025; Accepted: 09 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xu, Fu, Zhai, Li and Wen. 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: Gang Wen, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
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