Grip strength as a predictor of depressive symptoms among vulnerable elderly Europeans with musculoskeletal conditions

Handgrip strength and upper limb functional performance measures in people over 18 years old: Analysis of relationships and influencing factors

BACKGROUND

Handgrip strength is a common, simple, and inexpensive method to measure muscle strength. On the other hand, the functional performance measurement involves a usual task which implies repeating elements between the individuals' interaction and the environment. This is fundamental for projecting their results to daily life situation.

PURPOSE

To explore the relationship between grip strength and measures of functional performance of the upper limbs (ULs) in people over 18 years of age, and to determine the influence of sociodemographic and anthropometric variables on the relationship.

STUDY DESIGN

A cross-sectional study was conducted under the analytical empirical approach, using linear associations between handgrip strength and functional performance measurement tests (correspondence analysis).

METHODS

Three hundred sixty-two male and female individuals between 18 and 91 years of age from 4 Colombian cities participated. The grip strength of both ULs measured with a digital dynamometry was associated with the Box and Block Test (BBT, manual dexterity), Nine-Hole Peg Test (NHPT, daily living tasks), and Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test (JJT, ability to grasp, pick up, and place). Multiple linear regression analyzes were performed to assess possible explanatory factors of a sociodemographic and anthropometric order.

RESULTS

A significant association was found between the grip strength of dominant and non-dominant ULs with all functional performance tests (ρ > 0.27 and p < .001), except for the writing and simulated feeding subtests of the JJT (ρ ≤ 0.16). An interactive effect of age was found in the relationship between grip strength and the 3 functional performance tests.

CONCLUSIONS

These results support the association between grip strength with the NHPT, JJT, and BBT measures and the interactive effect of age on the performance of all tests.

Dose-response association of handgrip strength and risk of depression: a longitudinal study of 115 601 older adults from 24 countries

BACKGROUND

Prior research has solely focused on the association between handgrip strength and risk of depression in single countries or general populations, but more knowledge is required from wider-spread cohorts and target populations.

AIMS

This study aimed to investigate the association between handgrip strength and risk of depression using repeated measures in adults aged 50 years and over.

METHOD

Data on handgrip strength and risk of depression were retrieved from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) waves 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7, using a hand dynamometer (Smedley, S Dynamometer, TTM) and the EURO-D 12-item scale, respectively. Time-varying exposure and covariates were modelled using both Cox regression and restricted cubic splines.

RESULTS

A total of 115 601 participants (mean age 64.3 years (s.d. = 9.9), 54.3% women) were followed-up for a median of 7.3 years (interquartile range: 3.9-11.8) and 792 459 person-years. During this period, 30 208 (26.1%) participants experienced a risk of depression. When modelled as a continuous variable, we observed an inverse significant association for each kg increase of handgrip strength and depression up to 40 kg in men and up to 27 kg in women.

CONCLUSIONS

Being physically strong may serve as a preventive factor for depression in older adults, but this is limited up to a maximum specific threshold for men and women.

Relationship between handgrip strength, depression and cognitive functioning among older adults: Evidence from longitudinal ageing study in India

BACKGROUND

Handgrip strength (HGS) is a frequent and general indicator of muscle strength and it may affect several aspects of mental health among older people. This study explored the association of HGS with depression and cognitive impairment among community-dwelling older adults in resource-constrained setting of India.

METHOD

Data were drawn from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI), and the analysis was conducted on 27,707 older adults aged 60 years and above. Outcome measures included depression (assessed by the Short Form Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI-SF) and the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scales) and cognitive impairment. Descriptive statistics and mean scores of HGS were reported and multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted to test the research hypotheses of the study.

RESULTS

Mean score of HGS was 24.33 (SD: 7.22) for males and 15.94 (SD: 5.14) for females. Mean age was 68.86 (SD: 7.19) and 68.40 (SD: 7.31) years among males and females respectively. Older participants who had weak HGS were significantly more likely to be depressed in CIDI-SF scale (B: 0.06, CI: 0.01-0.13) and CES-D scale (B: 0.02, CI: 0.01-0.03) in comparison to those who had strong HGS after adjusting for a large number of confounders. Older participants who had weak HGS were significantly more likely (B: 0.92, CI: 0.76-1.07) to have cognitive impairment compared to those who had strong HGS.

CONCLUSION

The findings highlight the independent association of HGS with major depression, depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment that have implications on promoting resistance-training programs among aged population.