The Mediating Role of Self-Perceived Burden Between Social Support and Fear of Progression in Renal Transplant Recipients: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Participants (N=329)

Variables	n	%
Gender
Male	202	61.4%
Female	127	38.6%
Age (year)
≤45	177	53.8%
≥46	152	46.2%
Educational level
Junior high school and below	84	25.5%
High school or technical secondary school	75	22.8%
College for professional training	81	24.6%
Bachelor’s degree and above	89	27.1%
Marital status
Unmarried/ divorced/widowed	76	23.1%
Married	253	76.9%
Residence
Urban	266	80.9%
Rural	63	19.1%
Primary caregivers
Spouse	209	63.6%
Parents	58	17.6%
Alone	32	9.7%
Child	30	9.1%
Working status
Employed	150	45.6%
Unemployed	92	28.0%
Retired	62	18.8%
Farmers/students	25	7.6%
Medical fee payment method
The rural cooperative medical care	41	12.5%
Medical insurance for urban residents	85	25.8%
Medical insurance for urban employees	191	58.1%
Full self-paid / commercial medical insurance	12	3.6%
Per capita monthly income (CNY)
≤2000	62	18.8%
2001~4000	97	29.5%
4001~6000	83	25.2%
≥6001	87	26.5%
Economic burden
No	48	14.6%
Light	77	23.4%
Medium	122	37.1%
Heavy	82	24.9%
Transplantation time (months)
≤12	94	28.6%
13~59	164	49.8%
≥60	71	21.6%
Dialysis method
Hemodialysis	233	70.8%
Peritoneal dialysis	65	19.8%
Both	19	5.8%
No	12	3.6%
Dialysis time (months)
≤24	195	59.3%
≥25	134	40.7%
Number of complications
0	84	25.6%
1	80	24.3%
2	82	24.9%
≥3	83	25.2%
Recurrence of primary disease
Yes	31	9.4%
No	298	90.6%

Table 2 Means, SDs, and Correlations of All Variables

Variables	Mean	SD	Social Support	Self-Perceived Burden
Social support	39.20	8.57	1
Self-perceived burden	29.09	11.10	−0.28***	1
FoP	33.13	10.32	−0.37***	0.58***

Note: ***p < 0.001 (two-tailed).

Table 3 The Path Coefficients of the Mediation Model

Variable	Standardized Estimate	SE	CR	P
SPB <--- SS	−0.333	0.126	−4.412	<0.001
FoP <--- SPB	0.516	0.129	8.746	<0.001
FoP <--- SS	−0.294	0.256	−4.210	<0.001

Table 4 Mediating Effect

Effect	Estimate	Lower	Upper	P-value	Mediating Effects
Direct effect	−0.294	−0.421	−0.164	<0.001	63.1%
Indirect effect	−0.172	−0.253	−0.097	<0.001	36.9%
Total effect	−0.466	−0.581	−0.345	<0.001

Figure 1 Model of the mediating role of self-perceived burden between social support and FoP. Indirect effect of social support on FoP through self-perceived burden = −0.172 (95% confidence interval: −0.253, −0.097, p < 0.001).

Notes: X1: objective support; X2: subjective support; X3: utilization of support; M1: physical burden; M2: economic burden; M3: emotional burden; Y1: physical health; Y2: social family.

Abbreviations: SS, social support; SPB, self-perceived burden; FoP, fear of progression.