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Depressive Symptoms and Frailty Among the Oldest Old: Evidence from a Multicenter Prospective Study
André Hajek1, Christian Brettschneider1, Tina Mallon2
1Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, University Medical Center, Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany.
Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
|November 23, 2020
Summary
Increases in depressive symptoms predict later increases in frailty among older adults. Addressing depression may help delay the onset of frailty in this population.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Clinical Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Frailty and depressive symptoms are common in the oldest old.
- The bidirectional relationship between frailty and depression requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To disentangle the longitudinal relationship between changes in frailty and depressive symptoms in adults aged 85 and older.
- To determine if changes in depressive symptoms precede changes in frailty, or vice versa.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from three waves of the AgeQualiDe prospective cohort study.
- Included 423 primary care patients aged 85+.
- Assessed frailty using the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA) Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) and depressive symptoms with the Geriatric Depression Scale, adjusting for covariates.
Main Results:
- Increases in depressive symptoms from wave 7 to 8 were significantly associated with subsequent increases in frailty from wave 8 to 9 (β=0.06, P<0.05).
- Increases in frailty from wave 7 to 8 were not significantly associated with subsequent increases in depressive symptoms from wave 8 to 9.
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest that increases in depressive symptoms may precede and contribute to the development of frailty in the oldest old.
- Intervention targeting depressive symptoms could be a strategy to postpone frailty onset and progression.
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