White Matter Volume Mediates the Relationship Between Self-Efficacy and Mobility in Older Women

Background/Study Context: With our aging population, understanding determinants of healthy aging is a priority. One essential component of healthy aging is mobility. Although self-efficacy can directly impact mobility in older adults, it is unknown what role brain health may play in this relationship.

The authors conducted a cross-sectional pilot analysis of community-dwelling women (N = 80, mean age = 69 years) to examine whether brain volume mediates the relationship between falls-related self-efficacy, as measured by the Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale, and mobility, as measured by the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. Age, depression, education, functional comorbidities, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) were included in the model as covariates.

The authors report that total white matter volume, specifically, significantly mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and mobility, where higher self-efficacy was associated with greater white matter volume (r = .28), which, in turn, was associated with better mobility (r = -.30).

This pilot study extends our understanding of the psychosocial and neurological factors that contribute to mobility and provides insight into effective strategies that may be used to improve functional independence among older adults. Future prospective and intervention studies are required to further elucidate the nature of the relationship between self-efficacy, mobility, and brain health.