The Association of Grip Strength with Depressive Symptoms among Middle-Aged and Older Adults with Different Chronic Diseases

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health 2020-09, Vol.17 (19), p.1-10
• Main Authors: Marconcin, Priscila, Miguel, Peralta, Ferrari, Gerson, Gaspar de Matos, Margarida, Espanha, Margarida, Murawska-Ciałowicz, Eugenia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adults; Aged; Aging; Aging - physiology; Aging - psychology; Arthritis; Chronic conditions; Chronic disease; Chronic Disease - epidemiology; Chronic Disease - psychology; Chronic illnesses; Confidence intervals; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression - epidemiology; Depression - psychology; Depressive symptoms; Diseases; Europe; Female; Frailty; Gender; Grip strength; Hand Strength - physiology; Handgrip strength; Humans; Male; Mental depression; Metabolic disorders; Middle Aged; Mortality; Older people; Regression analysis; Retirement; SHARE; Signs and symptoms; Statistical analysis
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17196942

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Low grip strength has been associated with an increase in depressive symptoms, independent of age group or gender, although the literature has not investigated this association among different chronic diseases. The present study aims to investigate the association of grip strength and depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older adults with different chronic diseases. A cross-section of data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe wave 6 (collected in 2015) was analysed. Grip strength was measured by a handgrip dynamometer, and the European Depression Symptoms 12-item scale (EURO-D) was used to assess depressive symptoms. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted. Those in the high strength tertile had 42% (95% confidence interval: 0.50, 0.71; p < 0.005) and 41% (95% confidence interval: 0.50, 0.70; p < 0.001) lower odds of depressive symptoms in the 'no disease' and in the 'metabolic diseases' groups of participants, respectively, compared with those in the lower strength tertile. No statistically significant relationship between grip strength and depression was observed in the 'arthritis diseases' group of participants. The association of grip strength with depressive symptoms must consider, besides gender and age group, the chronic conditions that an individual could have.