Knee Extensor Muscle Strength Associated with the Onset of Depression in Older Japanese Women: The Otassha Study

Abstract

We examined whether knee extensor muscle strength can predict the onset of depressive symptoms in older Japanese women living in Tokyo. A baseline comprehensive geriatric examination was conducted to evaluate isometric knee extensor muscle strength and depressive symptoms (using Geriatric Depression Scale [GDS]) in 2017–2019. A free of neurological disease participants received a series of follow-up examinations following an initial evaluation. A GDS score of ≥5 during follow-up marked the onset of depressive symptoms. A logistic regression model was established after adjustment of baseline GDS score for variables including age, body mass index, smoking, alcohol consumption, comorbidities, working status, hobbies, volunteering, years of education, and dietary variety. Of the 1845 recruited individuals, 1409 were eligible to be targeted for follow-up. Among them, 768 women provided two-year follow-up data and contributed the final analysis. After covariate adjustments, the odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for depressive symptoms were 0.68 (0.39, 1.20) and 0.48 (0.26, 0.91) for the middle and highest tertiles of muscle strength, respectively, using the lowest tertile as reference. A dose-response association between muscle strength and depression (p = 0.022) was identified. This study suggests an inverse dose-response relationship between knee extensor muscle strength and the onset of depressive symptoms in older Japanese women.