Concurrent Training Reduces Depressive Symptoms In Mexican Female Older Adults

Abstract

Nearly 35% of Mexican older adults (OA) are diagnosed with mild depression. Exercise has shown positive effects on reducing depression symptoms in OA. The correlation between physical function, body composition and mild depression risk in healthy OA has been neglected in Mexico. PURPOSE: To determine the effect of a concurrent-training exercise program (CTEP) on mild depression in Mexican female OA. A secondary aim was to determine the correlation between physical function, body composition and depressive symptoms in OA following a CTEP. METHODS: Twenty-one females (age= 64.0 ± 5.38 yr., weight= 72.0 ± 12.6 kg, BMI= 29.0 ± 4.7 kg/m2) participated in the study. Before (Pre) and after (Post) the CTEP, participants were measured on depression by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D), body fat, muscle mass [MM]), physical function by the Senior Fitness Test, and aerobic capacity by the 6-min walking test (6MWT). The CTEP consisted in two days of aerobic exercise and one day of resistance training performed for 50-min at moderate intensity (12 to 14 on Borg’s RPE scale) for 12-weeks. Paired t-tests were computed to compare pre- to post-CTEP effects, and Spearman correlations studied the association between body composition, physical function and depression scores using the GraphPad PRISM 5.0 software. RESULTS: The CTEP reduced HAM-D scores (Pre= 15.7 ± 4.5 vs. Post= 10.3 ± 5.3 pts., p=0.0001), improved upper-body strength (Pre= 15.1 ± 2.6 vs. Post= 18.9 ± 3.0 reps, p=0.0001), lower-body strength (Pre= 12.0 ± 2.4 vs. Post= 14.5 ± 2.9 reps, p= 0.0001), agility (Pre= 6.5 ±0.9 vs. Post= 6.0 ± 0.9 s, p=0.0001), and MM (Pre= 21.8 ± 2.9 vs. Post= 22.26 ± 3.1 kg, p=0.002). No significant changes were found in aerobic capacity (Pre= 587.9 ± 164.4 vs. Post= 619.6 ±144.9 m, p=0.06) and body fat (Pre= 31.0 ± 8.8 vs. Post= 30.8 ± 9.1%, p > 0.05). The HAM-D scores were inversely correlated with upper-body strength (r= -0.53, p=0.002) and lower-body strength (r= -0.64, p= 0.002), and directly correlated to agility (r= 0.50, p= 0.0004). CONCLUSIONS: A CTEP reduced depressive symptoms in Mexican female OA in spite of lack of changes in body composition. The increased physical function relates to a reduction in depressive symptoms; thus, highlighting the importance of improving functionality in OA.