Objectives This review aims to: (1) explore the social support measures in studies examining the association between social support and depression among community-dwelling older adults in Asia and (2) the evidence of association. Design A systematic review was conducted using electronic databases of CINAHL, PubMed, PsychINFO, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, SocINDEX and Web of Science for articles published until the 11th of January 2018. Eligibility criteria All observational studies investigating the association between social support and depression among community-dwelling older adults in Asia were included. Participants Older adults aged 60 years and more who are living in the community. Exposure measures Social support. Outcome measures Depression. Results We retrieved16 356 records and screened 66 full-text articles. Twenty-four observational studies were included in the review. They consisted of five cohort studies and 19 cross-sectional studies. Social support was found to be measured by multiple components, most commonly through a combination of structural and functional constructs. Perceived social support is more commonly measured compared with received social support. Good overall social support, having a spouse or partner, living with family, having a large social network, having more contact with family and friends, having emotional and instrumental support, good support from family and satisfaction with social support are associated with less depressive symptoms among community-dwelling older adults in Asia. Conclusions There were 20 different social support measures and we applied a framework to allow for better comparability. Our findings emphasised the association between good social support and decrease depression among older adults. Compared with western populations, family support has a greater influence on depression among community-dwelling older adults in Asia. This indicates that the family institution needs to be incorporated into designed programmes and interventions when addressing depression in the Asian context. Trial registration number CRD42017074897. � 2019 Author(s).

Ageing leads to the dependency of older adults on the people surrounding them. Social support provided by these people gives older adults emotional and material resources necessary for healthy ageing. Social support is associated with mortality, morbidity and quality of life. The objective of this review is to give a brief overview of the evidence between social support and quality of life among community-dwelling older adults in Malaysia. A systematic search was conducted using five databases. Articles in English and Malay were included in the search. A total of 282 articles were screened and four fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Among the four included articles, one was a qualitative study, while the remaining three were cross-sectional studies. All three cross-sectional studies found between social support and quality of life. The respondents in the qualitative study reported that social support was needed in improving their quality of life. In addition, emotional support and support from family were found to be important for a higher quality of life among the older adults. This study indicates that social support from the Malaysian setting is important to improve the quality of life among older adults. Therefore, a policy that can optimise family support in the community should be developed. � 2020, Akademi Sains Malaysia.