Handgrip strength, dynapenia, and mental health in older Koreans

Abstract

This study examined associations between muscle strength and mental health among 2,652 elderly Koreans who participated in the 2015 and 2017 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We measured absolute handgrip strength and calculated handgrip strength relative to body mass index. Dynapenia criteria followed that of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia. Questionnaires were used to assess mental health indicators including suicidal ideation, depressed mood, and stress status. Among participants, 18.6%, 14.9%, and 6.7% reported stress, depressed mood, and suicidal ideation, respectively. Dynapenia prevalence was 25.1%. Adjusted odds ratios of stress, depressed mood, and suicidal ideation for men with dynapenia were 2.15, 2.30, and 2.11, respectively. Significant associations were absent among women. for men, handgrip strength and relative handgrip strength were inversely associated with risk of stress, depressed mood, and suicidal ideation. for women, handgrip strength and relative handgrip strength were inversely associated with the risk of stress, but not of depressed mood and suicidal ideation. in conclusion, all muscle-strength indices were associated with mental health risks among older men. in older women, low handgrip strength and relative handgrip strength were associated with increased stress. Muscle strength could be a clinical marker of poor mental health in older adults.Korea has officially become an aged society. The number of people aged 65 years and older increased to 7.38 million in 2018, accounting for 14.3% of the total population 1 . This status emerged only 18 years after Korea became an aging society, when those aged 65 years and older accounted for over 7% of the population 1 . Unpreparedness for aging aggravates both physical and mental well-being of the elderly population. Older people experience increased weakness, loss of physical function, and greater risk of disease 2 . These physical changes lead to reduced roles in the home, workplace, and society, generating social and economic burdens for the elderly 3 . As a result, older individuals are at greater risk of mental health problems such as stress, depression, and suicide 4,5 . Older adults in Korea are among the most vulnerable to suicide, with a rate of about 72 per 100,000 people during 2010. This ratio is nearly five times higher than that in 1990 and about 3.5 times the mean suicide rate in countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation Development 6 .Sarcopenia is a decrease in skeletal muscle mass and strength that develops because of aging. The resultant physical frailty is associated with loss of independence, as well as increased risks of morbidity and mortality 7 . Recently, several studies showed that muscle strength is a better predictor of disability than muscle mass, while dynapenia (age-related loss of muscle strength) is independently associated with physical disability and mortality 8 . Currently, handgrip strength (HGS) is the only assessment technique recommended for measuring muscle strengt...

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