Abstract
BackgroundPsychomotor change is a core symptom of depression and one of the criteria in diagnosing depressive disorders. Research suggests depressed individuals demonstrate deviations in gait, or walking, compared to non-depressed controls. However, studies are sparse, often limited to older adults and observational gait assessment. It is also unclear if gait changes are due to dysregulation of affect, a core feature of depression. The current study addressed this gap by investigating the relation between positive and negative affect, depressive symptom severity, and gait in young adults.MethodsUsing three-dimensional motion capture, gait parameters (velocity, stride length, and step time) were attained from 90 young adults during a task where they walked ten meters at their own pace overground in a laboratory for ten minutes. Self-report measures of mood and affect were collected.ResultsOn average, the study population reported high negative and low positive affect. Contrary to our hypotheses, hierarchical regressions demonstrated no significant associations between gait parameters and affective or depressive symptoms (ps>.05).ConclusionsOur findings do not support a relation between affective symptoms and gait parameters. The results may indicate age-dependent gait pathology or that other symptoms of depression may influence gait more strongly than affect. They may also reflect an observational bias of gait changes in depressed young adults, one that is unsupported by objective data. Replication is warranted to further examine whether affective symptomology is embodied via gait differences in young adults.
Highlights
Psychomotor change is one of nine symptoms a person can endorse to be diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders– 5th edition (DSM-5; [1])
Hierarchical regressions demonstrated no significant associations between gait parameters and affective or depressive symptoms
Our findings do not support a relation between affective symptoms and gait parameters
Summary
Psychomotor change is one of nine symptoms a person can endorse to be diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders– 5th edition (DSM-5; [1]). Diagnostic measures often contain a single item to assess motor change and ratings are based on clinical judgment, often validated for those who score at a moderate-tosevere range of pathology, distinguishing healthy populations from the most ill. This norming does not account for mild-to-moderate symptoms that still cause distress and impairment. Studies are sparse, often limited to older adults and observational gait assessment. It is unclear if gait changes are due to dysregulation of affect, a core feature of depression. The current study addressed this gap by investigating the relation between positive and negative affect, depressive symptom severity, and gait in young adults
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