Key result
Higher treatment burden links to worse holistic health, mediated by depressive symptoms and stress adaptation.
Why the study?
Patients with complex multimorbidity often enter a cycle of burden, management failure, and deterioration due to complex management demands, frequent visits, and polypharmacy.
Cross-Sectional (n=507)
Yes
Effect estimate: B = -0.263 (95% CI -0.357, -0.168)
p-value: p=<0.001
In older adults with complex multimorbidity, higher treatment burden negatively impacts holistic health status, a relationship partially mediated by depressive symptoms and stress adaptation capacity.
Higher treatment burden may worsen holistic health via depressive symptoms in multimorbid elders; hypothesis-generating for mediator-targeted interventions.
Background Patients with complex multimorbidity are prone to fall into the cycle of “burden-management failure-deterioration” under the overspending of resources due to the complex management burden of cross-system chronic diseases superimposed on frequent visits and polypharmacy. Aim To investigate the relationship between treatment burden and holistic health status in older adults with complex multimorbidity, and to analyze the mediating effects of depressive symptoms and stress adaptation capacity on holistic health status. Methods Participants were recruited from nine healthcare facilities across three cities in Zhejiang Province, China. Data were collected with a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Treatment Burden Questionnaire, Stress Adaptation Scale, 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire, and Long-Term Conditions Questionnaire. Parallel mediating effect modeling was performed using the Lavaan package in R software, and the mediating effect between depressive symptoms and stress adaptation capacity was tested using the Bootstrap resampling method. Results A total of 507 participants with complete data were included in the mediation analysis. Median (IQR) scores for treatment burden, holistic health status, depressive symptoms, and stress adaptation capacity were 25.0 (12.0–42.0), 78.0 (66.0–88.0), 3.0 (1.0–6.0), and 20.0 (18.0–25.0), respectively. Treatment burden had a significant direct negative effect on holistic health status ( B = −0.263, 95% CI [−0.357, −0.168]), with a total effect of −0.449 (95% CI [−0.538, −0.360]). Further mediation analysis revealed that depressive symptoms ( B = −0.095, 95% CI [−0.145, −0.047]) and stress adaptation capacity ( B = −0.091, 95% CI [−0.138, −0.051]) partially mediated this relationship. Conclusion Stress adaptation and depressive symptoms partially mediated the relationship between treatment burden and holistic health status. Healthcare professionals can improve the overall health of patients by strengthening their stress adaptation capacity and intervening with depression.
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Shi et al. (2026) conducted a cross-sectional in Complex multimorbidity (n=507). Treatment burden vs. Lower treatment burden was evaluated on Holistic health status (measured by Long-Term Conditions Questionnaire) (B = -0.263, 95% CI -0.357, -0.168, p=<0.001). Higher treatment burden had a significant direct negative effect on holistic health status (B = -0.263), a relationship that was partially mediated by depressive symptoms and stress adaptation capacity.
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