Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 6, 2025
Measuring the Motor Aspect of Cancer-Related Fatigue using a Handheld Dynamometer
Published on: February 20, 2020
Bidirectional Associations between Handgrip Strength and Depressive Symptoms: A Longitudinal Cohort Study
Ying Lian1, Gang-Pu Wang2, Guo-Qiang Chen1
1Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China; Shandong University Center for Suicide Prevention Research, Jinan, China; Department of Health Management, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China; Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Health Management, Shandong Medicine and Health Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Jinan, China; Department of Medical Record Management and Statistics, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China.
Objectives:
This study aimed to examine the bidirectional associations between handgrip strength and depressive symptoms in a nationally representative sample.
Design:
Cohort study with a 4-year follow-up.
Setting And Participants:
A total of 13,208 participants from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study were included in the analyses.
Methods:
Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale. Separate generalized estimating equations were used to analyze the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between handgrip strength and depressive symptoms. Restricted cubic spline models were performed to explore the shape of the dose-response relationship.
Results:
Decreased handgrip strength was related to subsequent increased risk of depressive symptoms, such that participants in the lowest quartile of handgrip strength were found to have an approximately 36% increased in their risk of depressive symptoms compared with those in the highest quartile [odds ratio (OR) 1.36, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.17, 1.58]. There was a linear dose-response relationship between handgrip strength and risk of depressive symptoms (Pnonlinearity = .25), in that a 5-unit increment in handgrip strength may lead to an 11% decrease in the risk of depressive symptoms (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.85, 0.92). Conversely, depressive symptoms were prospectively associated with subsequent decreased handgrip strength (β = -0.84, 95% CI -1.13, -0.55). An approximatively L-shaped dose-response pattern was found for the association between depressive symptoms level and handgrip strength (Pnonlinearity = .02).
Conclusions And Implications:
The present study identified bidirectional associations between handgrip strength and depressive symptoms, and the associations were found to have a dose-response pattern. It provides important insights into integrated mental and physical health intervention strategies that simultaneously promote handgrip strength and depressive symptoms.
Related Concept Videos
01:27Depressive Disorders: Etiology
Biological Factors in Depression
Biological predispositions significantly influence the risk of developing depressive disorders. Genetic studies highlight the role of variations in the serotonin transporter...
01:27Depressive Disorders: MDD and Dysthymia
01:05Long-term Depression
01:03Long-term Depression
Calcium Ion Concentration Mechanism
If over...
02:05Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping
02:45Self-Discrepancy Theory