Depressive symptoms and bone mineral density in older men.

Abstract

Most studies examining the relation between depression and bone mineral density (BMD) have been limited to psychiatric patients or to community-dwelling, older women. We conducted a cross-sectional and prospective cohort study to determine whether depressive symptoms are associated with low BMD in community-dwelling, older men. We recruited 515 men 50 years of age or older from population-based listings of age-eligible men. Participants completed the Geriatric Depression Scale (short form) and were considered depressed if they scored 6 or more out of 15 possible points. BMD was measured in the spine and hip using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry in all participants, and again an average of 3.6 years later in a random subset of 100 participants. The prevalence of depressive symptoms (GDS = 6) was 3.1% (16 of 515). We found no difference in mean BMD or mean percent change in BMD per year of the hip and lumbar spine in men who had 6 or more depressive symptoms compared with men who reported 5 or fewer symptoms of depression. These findings suggest that depressive symptoms are not associated with BMD in community-dwelling, older men.