Handgrip Strength Is Associated With Hippocampal Volume and White Matter Hyperintensities in Major Depression and Healthy Controls: A UK Biobank Study

Grip Strength and Depression Symptoms Among Middle-Age and Older Adults

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the relationship between grip strength and symptoms of depression, considering sex and age, in adults from 18 countries.

METHODS

Cross-sectional data for adults 50 years and older from the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe wave 6 (collected in 2015) were analyzed. Grip strength was measured twice on each hand using a handgrip dynamometer. The EURO-D 12-item scale was used to measure depression symptoms. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted. Data analyses were conducted between November 5, 2019, and February 7, 2020.

RESULTS

Men and women who were in quartiles 2, 3, and 4 of grip strength were less likely to have depression symptoms than those in the first quartile of grip strength. Having more grip strength decreased the odds of depression symptoms by 30% (odds ratio 0.70; 95% CI, 0.65 to 0.77) and 47% (odds ratio, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.49 to 0.57) for adults aged 50 to 64 years and 65 years and older, respectively, when compared with those with the lowest grip strength. The negative relationship between strong grip strength and depression symptoms was observed among men and women younger and older than 65 years.

CONCLUSION

There was an association between grip strength and depression symptoms. For clinical practice and geriatric health professionals, assessing adults' grip strength can be used as a signal to screen for physical and mental health.

What is the functional/organic distinction actually doing in psychiatry and neurology?

The functional-organic distinction aims to distinguish symptoms, signs, and syndromes that can be explained by diagnosable biological changes, from those that cannot. The distinction is central to clinical practice and is a key organising principle in diagnostic systems. Following a pragmatist approach that examines meaning through use, we examine how the functional-organic distinction is deployed and conceptualised in psychiatry and neurology. We note that the conceptual scope of the terms 'functional' and 'organic' varies considerably by context. Techniques for differentially diagnosing 'functional' and 'organic' diverge in the strength of evidence they produce as a necessary function of the syndrome in question. Clinicians do not agree on the meaning of the terms and report using them strategically. The distinction often relies on an implied model of 'zero sum' causality and encourages classification of syndromes into discrete 'functional' and 'organic' versions. Although this clearly applies in some instances, this is often in contrast to our best scientific understanding of neuropsychiatric disorders as arising from a dynamic interaction between personal, social and neuropathological factors. We also note 'functional' and 'organic' have loaded social meanings, creating the potential for social disempowerment. Given this, we argue for a better understanding of how strategic simplification and complex scientific reality limit each other in neuropsychiatric thinking. We also note that the contribution of people who experience the interaction between 'functional' and 'organic' factors has rarely informed the validity of this distinction and the dilemmas arising from it, and we highlight this as a research priority.