The Association between Estimated Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Mental Health in Older Adults

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:This study examined the association between estimated cardiorespiratory fitness (eCRF) and mental health in Korean older adults. The present study was carried out using data from the 2008 Living Profiles of Older People Survey. METHODS:A total of 13,333 participants aged 60 years and older (57% women) completed the assessments (i.e., socioeconomic status, health behaviors and conditions, and mental health status) and were included for the final analyses. eCRF was assessed with sexspecific algorithms and classified as lower (lowest 25%), middle (middle 50%), and upper (highest 25%) categories. Korean version of Mini-Mental State Examine and short-form Geriatric Depression Scale were used to assess depressive symptoms and impaired cognition, respectively. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for depressive symptoms and impaired cognition according to eCRF categories. RESULTS:In the total study samples, the risk of having depressive symptoms was 24% lower for the middle eCRF group (OR, 0.76; CI, 0.69-0.84) and 49% lower for the upper eCRF group (OR, 0.51; CI, 0.45-0.59) compared with the lower eCRF group (reference, OR =1) and remained statistically significant even after adjustments for all the covariates included in this study. The risk of having impaired cognition was 18% lower for the middle eCRF group (OR, 0.82; CI, 0.74-0.91) and 26% lower for the upper eCRF group (OR, 0.74; CI, 0.66-0.84) compared with the lower eCRF group (OR=1) and remained statistically even after adjustments for all the covariates. CONCLUSIONS:The current findings of the study suggest that eCRF may have an independent predictor of both depressive symptoms and impaired cognition in this Korean older adults, underscoring the importance of promoting physical fitness via regular exercise to maintain good mental health later in life. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 화를 경험하는 노인이 겪게 되는 가장 큰 문제는 고혈압(hypertension), 당뇨병(diabetes), 관절염(arthritis) 등과 같은 만성질환(chronic disease)으로 인한 건강의 악화라고 할 수 있다. 특히 건강악화와 그로 인한 사회적 격리, 배우자 사별에 따른 상실감, 독거로 인한 외로움, 좋 지 않은 생활습관, 빈곤 등은 노인에게서 특정적으로 나타나는 현상 으로 우울증(depression)과 치매(dementia)와 같은 정신건강(mental health)과 관련된 문제를 증가시키는 것으로 알려져 있다[3,4]. 노년기 우울증은 자살과 밀접한 관련이 있으며[5], 종종 장기간 신체 적 질환에 노출되어 이차적으로 발생하여 이를 더욱 악화시키는 결과 95% CI = 0.484-0.580, p < .001)과 상위집단(OR= 0.280, 95% CI = 0.248-0.316, p < .001)의 승산비는 통계적으로 유의하게 낮은 것으로 나타났 다. 중간집단과 상위집단의 승산비는 교육수준, 소득, 독거, 영양, 흡연, 음주, 만성질환 등과 같은 공변량을 통계적으로 보정하고도 통계적 유 의도가 유지되었다. 남성 노인에서 하위집단을 기준(OR=1)으로 했을 때, 중간집단(OR = 0.540, 95% CI = 0.467-0.625, p < .001)과 상위집단 (OR= 0.236, 95% CI= 0.191-0.291, p <.001)의 승산비는 통계적으로 유의 하게 낮은 것으로 나타났다. 중간집단과 상위집단의 승산비는 교육수 준, 소득, 독거, 영양, 흡연, 음주, 만성질환 등과 같은 공변량을 통계적으 로 보정하고도 통계적 유의도가 유지되었다. 여성 노인에서 하위집단을 기준...