Investigating the relationship between leisure and cognitive function of the elderly in Tehran: the mediating role of depression

Increasing the elderly population in Iranian society and achieving a better quality of life for the elderly is one of the most important issues in recent times. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between leisure time and cognitive function of the elderly in Tehran mediated by the role of depression.

In this applied descriptive correlational study, 437 subjects (270 males, 167 females) were selected using multistage random cluster sampling and participated in this study. The Activity Cards Sort (ACS) test, the Cognitive Performance Test (MMSE), and the Elderly Depression Inventory (GDS) were used to assess leisure time. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to examine the relationship between the variables, and the Wilcoxon test was used at a significance level of 0.05. The bootstrap method was used to determine the mediating relationship between depression, leisure, and cognitive status.

The results of Spearman correlation coefficient test showed that there was a significant relationship between instrumental activities, low-physical-demand leisure, high-physical-demand leisure, and social activities (P <0.05). Moreover, the bootstrap result showed that depression mediated the relationship between leisure and cognitive status.

Instrumental activities, low-physical-demand leisure, social activities, and high-physical-demand leisure account for the largest proportion of leisure activities of elderly people in Tehran, and this relationship is mediated by depression.