Depressive symptoms are associated with sarcopenia and malnutrition in older adults

Abstract

Background: Depression is one of the most common mental disorders among older adults and depressive symptoms are strongly associated with adverse health outcomes. We aim to examine whether depressive symptoms are associated with sarcopenia and malnutrition in older adults. Methods: We reviewed hospital records of 447 patients (≥65 years) who were admitted to the outpatient clinics, retrospectively. In addition to demographic characteristics, all participants were measured for usual gait speed (UGS), handgrip strength (HGS) and skeletal muscle mass (SMMI) by using bioelectrical impedance analysis. The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was used to assess depressive symptoms. Nutritional status was screened by a mini-nutritional assessment (MNA). Cognitive function was assessed from the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results: Of the 215 participants who remained after performing exclusion criteria (a clinical diagnosis of dementia (n 63), stroke (n 61), Parkinson's disease or other neurodegenerative disease (n 30), previous depression diagnosis or antidepressant medication use (n 144)), the mean age was 78 AE 8.3, the majority were female (n 133) and almost half had depressive symptoms (49.3%). Thirty-six percent had malnutrition, and 23 % had sarcopenia. The participants with depressive symptoms had lower MMSE scores (P < 0.001) and correlated with muscle mass (P < 0.001, r = À0.382), muscle strength (P < 0.001, r = À0.288), and MNA (P < 0.001, r = 0.355). Multivariate logistic regression showed that depressive symptoms were independently associated with low muscle strength (HGS: odds ratio (OR) 0.913, 95% CI: 0.866-0.962, P = 0.001), low muscle mass (SMMI: OR, 0.644, 95% CI: 0.509-0.814, P < 0.001), sarcopenia (OR, 2.536, 95% CI: 1.256-5.117, P = 0.009) and malnutrition (OR, 2.667, 95% CI: 1.467-4.850, P = 0.001). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that depressive symptoms were independently associated with sarcopenia and malnutrition in older adults. Depressive disorders may lead to impaired cognitive dysfunction. Older adults at increased risk of sarcopenia and malnutrition should be screened for depression earlier.

The prevalence and factors associated with sarcopenia in Thai older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…This results in increased production of IL-6 and TNF-α, which are inflammatory cytokines that contribute to rhabdomyolysis, causing a decline in muscle mass and strength [ 22 , 23 ]. Furthermore, older adults with depression often exhibit sedentary behavior and reduced physical activity levels [ 83 , 84 ], which can further contribute to the development of sarcopenia, in line with previous research [ 85 , 86 ]. The prevalence rate of sarcopenia was also found to be 5.49 times higher among older adults with depression compared to those without depression [ 87 ].…”

Physical activity, physical frailty and depressive symptoms among Chinese male and female older adults: do different indicators make a difference?

“…Decline of muscle mitochondrial function is associated with depression as well ( 59 ). Malnutrition ( 60 ), hormonal imbalances ( 61 ), cardiovascular disease and inflammation ( 62 ) may also play a role in this relationship.…”

A Meta-analysis of the Correlation Between Nutritional Risk and Prognosis in Stroke Patients Assessed by Different Scales

“…A total of 9 articles in this study [14,15,20,27,32,[36][37][38]] (3365 cases) were included in this study for heterogeneity. The results (I2=99.9%, >50% and P<0.1 of Q test) indicated that there was significant heterogeneity among the articles selected in this study, so random effects were selected for meta-analysis.…”