Perceived Community Environment and Health-Related Quality of Life among Chinese Older Adults: The Mediating Role of Sedentary Behavior

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between perceived community environment, sedentary behavior, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among Chinese older adults. Cross-sectional data from the 2021 China General Social Survey was utilized (N = 1,566). Exploratory factor analysis was applied to measure perceived community environment, causal steps approach and bootstrap method were used to test the mediating role of sedentary behavior in the indirect effect of perceived community social environment (PCSE) and perceived community physical environment (PCPE) on HRQoL, with a focus on middle- and old-aged comparison by heterogeneity test. The results indicated that both PCPE and PCSE were significantly associated with HRQoL. The mediation effect of sedentary behavior was only observed in the relationship between PCSE and HRQoL.