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Depressive symptoms predict low physical performance among older Mexican Americans

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Abstract

Background

Depressive symptoms are common in older adults and predict functional dependency.

Aims

To examine the ability of depressive symptoms to predict low physical performance over 20 years of follow-up among older Mexican Americans who scored moderate to high in the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) test and were non-disabled at baseline.

Methods

Data were from the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly. Our sample included 1545 community-dwelling Mexican American men and women aged 65 and older. Measures included socio-demographics, depressive symptoms, SPPB, handgrip strength, activities of daily living, body mass index (BMI), mini-mental state examination, and self-reports of various medical conditions. General Equation Estimation was used to estimate the odds ratio of developing low physical performance over time as a function of depressive symptoms.

Results

The mean SPPB score at baseline was 8.6 ± 1.4 for those with depressive symptoms and 9.1 ± 1.4 for those without depressive symptoms. The odds ratio of developing low physical performance over time was 1.53 (95% Confidence Interval = 1.27–1.84) for those with depressive symptoms compared with those without depressive symptoms, after controlling for all covariates.

Conclusion

Depressive symptoms were a predictor of low physical performance in older Mexican Americans over a 20-year follow-up period. Interventions aimed at preventing decline in physical performance in older adults should address management of their depressive symptoms.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available at https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/NACDA/series/546.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and Texas Resource Center on Minority Aging Research (R01 AG10939, R01 AG017638, 1P30 AG059301-01 and R01 MD010355). Dr. Rodriguez is a Visiting Scholar at the Sealy Center on Aging and is partly supported by a grant from the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund. The authors acknowledge the assistance of Sarah Toombs Smith, PhD, ELS, Sealy Center on Aging, in article preparation. Dr. Toombs Smith received no compensation for her effort beyond her university salary.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and Texas Resource Center on Minority Aging Research (R01 AG10939, R01 AG017638, 1P30 AG059301-01, and R01 MD010355). The authors acknowledge the assistance of Sarah Toombs Smith, PhD, ELS, Sealy Center on Aging, in article preparation. Dr. Toombs Smith received no compensation for this effort beyond her university salary.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA

    Joshua Patino

  2. Sealy Center On Aging, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Blvd., Galveston, TX, 7755-0528, USA

    Martin Alberto Rodriguez & Soham Al Snih

  3. Division of Rehabilitation Sciences/School of Health Professions, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA

    Soham Al Snih

  4. Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine/Department of Internal Medicine/School of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA

    Soham Al Snih

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  1. Joshua Patino
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  2. Martin Alberto Rodriguez
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  3. Soham Al Snih
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Contributions

All authors made substantial contributions to the completion of this study. Mr. JP and Dr. SAS developed the conception and design of the work. Dr. SAS completed data analyses. Mr. JP wrote first draft of the manuscript. Mr. JP, Dr. MAR, and Dr. SAS contributed to the data interpretation and paper revision. All authors meet the authorship requirements as stated in the Uniform Requirement for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Soham Al Snih.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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The study and all research protocols were approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Texas Medical Branch.

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This study only included human participants.

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Written informed consent was obtained from all study participants.

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Informed oral consent was obtained from all participants prior the interviewers.

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Patino, J., Rodriguez, M.A. & Al Snih, S. Depressive symptoms predict low physical performance among older Mexican Americans. Aging Clin Exp Res 33, 2549–2555 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-020-01781-z

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