Abstract
Studies have shown an association between depression and frailty, even though the literature has not reached a consensus regarding how these syndromes interact. Although prospective cohort studies on this topic are still scarce, they could contribute to understanding this relationship. We aimed to observe whether depressive symptoms are risk factors for the onset of frailty among older adults living in São Paulo, Brazil. Prospective cohort study using the "Health, Well-being and Aging" (SABE) Study databases of 2006 and 2010. The sample was representative of the community-dwelling older adults living in São Paulo, and it is composed of non-frail men and women aged 60 years and older without cognitive decline. We calculated the frailty incidence rate between older adults with and without depressive symptoms and calculated the incidence rate ratio. Multiple analysis was carried out through Poisson regression with robust variance estimation. The initial sample (n = 1,109) presented a mean age of 72 years (from 60 to 96) and 61.1% were women. The final sample was composed of 830 individuals, and the mean follow-up time in the study was 3.8 years. After adjusting the model, depressive symptoms did not predict the onset of frailty at follow-up. Depressive symptoms were not shown to be a risk factor for frailty among older adults living in São Paulo in this study.
Highlights
Depression and frailty are considered common syndromes among older adults, with prevalence estimates varying from 6.5% to 25.3% for depressive symptomatology and from 4.0% to 59.1% for frailty [1,2,3,4,5]
Depressive symptoms did not predict the onset of frailty at follow-up
Depressive symptoms were not shown to be a risk factor for frailty among older adults living in São Paulo in this study
Summary
Depression and frailty are considered common syndromes among older adults, with prevalence estimates varying from 6.5% to 25.3% for depressive symptomatology and from 4.0% to 59.1% for frailty [1,2,3,4,5]. Even though depression and frailty are considered two separate conditions/constructs, they share moderate overlap, meaning they can happen concomitantly in an individual [5,6]. Depression and frailty share several commonalities (e.g., psychomotor slowness, fatigue, and weight change) [6]. Both conditions can increase the likelihood of disabilities and other causes of morbimortality in older adults [5,7]. Cross-sectional studies carried out in many geographic regions have shown some relationship between frailty and depression [8,9,10,11,12]. Studies have shown an association between depression and frailty, even though the literature has not reached a consensus regarding how these syndromes interact. We aimed to observe whether depressive symptoms are risk factors for the onset of frailty among older adults living in São Paulo, Brazil
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
