The Reciprocal Relationship between Frailty and Depressive Symptoms among Older Adults in Rural China: A Cross-Lag Analysis

Changes in frailty and depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older Chinese people: a nationwide cohort study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The older people bears a severe burden of disease due to frailty and depressive symptoms, however, the results of association between the two in the older Chinese people have been conflicting. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the developmental trajectories and interactions of frailty and depressive symptoms in the Chinese middle-aged and older adults.

METHODS

The study used four waves of data from 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2018 in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) database, focused on middle-aged and older people ≥ 45 years of age, and analyzed using latent growth models and cross-lagged models.

RESULTS

The parallel latent growth model showed that the initial level of depressive symptoms had a significant positive predictive effect on the initial level of frailty. The rate of change in depressive symptoms significantly positively predicted the rate of change in frailty. The initial level of frailty had a significant positive predictive effect on the initial level of depressive symptoms, but a significant negative predictive effect on the rate of change in depressive symptoms. The rate of change in frailty had a significant positive predictive effect on the rate of change in depressive symptoms. The results of the cross-lagged analysis indicated a bidirectional causal association between frailty and depressive symptoms in the total sample population. Results for the total sample population grouped by age and gender were consistent with the total sample.

CONCLUSIONS

This study recommends advancing the age of concern for frailty and depressive symptoms to middle-aged adults. Both men and women need early screening and intervention for frailty and depressive symptoms to promote healthy aging.

Bidirectional causal relationship between depression and frailty: a univariate and multivariate Mendelian randomisation study

BACKGROUND

cumulative evidence from cohort studies suggested that there were inconsistent conclusions as to whether there was a bidirectional association between depression and frailty. Therefore, this study used a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR) study to investigate the causal relationship between depression and frailty.

METHODS

we performed univariate and multivariate bidirectional MR analyses to assess the causal association between depression and frailty. Independent genetic variants associated with depression and frailty were selected as instrumental variables. Inverse variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger, weighted median and weighted mode were mainly used in univariate MR analysis. Multivariate MR (MVMR) analyses used multivariable inverse variance-weighted methods to individually and jointly adjust for three potential confounders, body mass index (BMI), age at menarche (AAM) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR, adjusted for BMI).

RESULTS

univariate MR analysis showed a positive causal relationship between depression and risk of frailty (IVW, odds ratio (OR) = 1.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.23-1.37, P = 6.54E-22). Causal relationship between frailty and risk of depression (IVW, OR = 1.69, 95% CI = 1.33-2.16, P = 2.09E-05). MVMR analysis revealed that the bidirectional causal association between depression and frailty remained after adjusting for three potential confounders, BMI, AAM and WHR (adjusted for BMI), individually and in combination.

CONCLUSIONS

our findings supported a causal relationship between genetically predicted depression and frailty in both directions.

Determinants of depressive symptoms in older outpatients with cardiometabolic diseases in a Japanese frailty clinic: Importance of bidirectional association between depression and frailty

INTRODUCTION

Frailty and depression may play important roles in the management of older patients with cardiometabolic diseases. We explored the determinants of depressive symptoms and their association with frailty among patients with cardiometabolic diseases (hypertension, diabetes, and atrial fibrillation) in a cross-sectional study.

METHODS

A total of 633 outpatients aged 65 years or older with cardiometabolic disease and suspected symptoms of frailty participated in this study. Depressive symptoms, physical activity, and social network were assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)-15, International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and Lubben Social Network Scale-6 (LSNS-6), respectively. Frailty was evaluated using the Kihon Checklist (KCL) based on the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA), the modified Cardiovascular Health Study (mCHS), and the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). Binomial logistic regression analysis was used to examine the determinants of depressive symptoms and their association with frailty.

RESULTS

Depressive symptoms with GDS-15 scores ≥ 5 were present in 43.6% of the patients. In logistic regression, after adjusting for covariates, the determinants of depressive symptoms in all patients were lack of social network, low years of education, and frailty. In contrast, in logistic regression with frailty as the dependent variable, depressive symptoms were independently associated KCL-defined frailty (OR = 6.28, 95% CI: 4.13-9.55) and mCHS-defined frailty (OR = 2.66, 95% CI: 1.70-4.17), but not with CFS. Similarly, significant associations between depression and frailty were observed in patients with hypertension, diabetes, or atrial fibrillation.

CONCLUSIONS

Lack of social networks, low education, and frailty based on the KCL and mCHS were important determinants of depressive symptoms in all patients. The relatively strong associations between depressive symptoms and frailty based on CGA in patients with hypertension, diabetes, or atrial fibrillation suggest that the assessment of depressive symptoms is of great importance in clinical practice in those patients at high risk of frailty.

The Relationship Between Frailty and Emotional Health in Older Patients with Advanced Cancer

BACKGROUND

Aging-related deficits that eventually manifest as frailty may be associated with poor emotional health in older patients with advanced cancer. This study aimed to examine the relationship between frailty and emotional health in this population.

METHODS

This was a secondary analysis of baseline data from a nationwide cluster randomized trial. Patients were aged ≥70 years with incurable stage III/IV solid tumors or lymphomas, had ≥1 geriatric assessment (GA) domain impairment, and had completed the Geriatric Depression Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and Distress Thermometer. Frailty was assessed using a Deficit Accumulation Index (DAI; range 0-1) based on GA, which did not include emotional health variables (depression and anxiety), and participants were stratified into robust, prefrail, and frail categories. Multivariate logistic regression models examined the association of frailty with emotional health outcomes. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were reported.

RESULTS

Five hundred forty-one patients were included (mean age: 77 years; 70-96). DAI ranged from 0.04 to 0.94; 27% of patients were classified as robust, 42% prefrail, and 31% frail. Compared with robust patients, frail patients had an increased risk of screening positive for depression (aOR = 12.8; 95% CI = 6.1-27.0), anxiety (aOR = 6.6; 95% CI = 2.2-19.7), and emotional distress (aOR = 4.62; 95% CI = 2.9-8.3). Prefrail compared with robust patients also had an increased risk of screening positive for depression (aOR = 2.22; 95% CI = 1.0-4.8) and distress (aOR = 1.71; 95% CI = 1.0-2.8).

CONCLUSION

In older patients with advanced cancer, frailty is associated with poorer emotional health, which indicates a need for an integrated care approach to treating these patients.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

A relationship exists between frailty and poor emotional health in older adults with advanced cancer. Identifying areas of frailty can prompt screening for emotional health and guide delivery of appropriate interventions. Alternatively, attention to emotional health may also improve frailty.