American Research Journal of Medicine and Surgery

Sarcopenia is commonly defined as a decrease in muscle mass accompanied by low muscle strength, and is known to increase the risk of frailty, falls and disability. According to the European guidelines for sarcopenia revised in 2018, if sarcopenia is clinically suspected, the muscle strength should be checked to determine whether it is probable sarcopenia before diagnosing sarcopenia. Recent studies have shown that depression is associated with sarcopenia. To explore further, this study investigated the association of probable sarcopenia with depressive symptom severity. This Cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2014, 2016). In the KNHNE survey, 2062 participants aged 65+ who completed both the PHQ-test and the grip strength test were selected. PHQ-9 was categorized into 4 groups according to the score, and low grip strength was defined as less than 26 kg for men and 18 kg for women according to AWGS criteria. Age, BMI, waist circumference, smoking status, comorbidities and diets were assessed as covariates. When adjusted all the covariates, Age ([OR]=1.175; [CI]=1.123-1.229), history of stroke ([OR]=2.467; [CI]=1.094-5.564), carbohydrate intake ([OR]=1.004; [CI]=1.000-1.009) was significantly associated with probable sarcopenia in male group. Whereas, in female group, age ([OR]=1.130; [CI]=1.090-1.171), lipid intake ([OR]=0.962; [CI]=0.929-0.997) was significantly associated with probable sarcopenia. Moreover, as the PHQ-9 score increased, the odds ratio for probable sarcopenia increased in female group (mild ([OR]1.477; [CI]1.007-2.167), moderate ([OR]2.421; [CI]1.292-4.537), moderately severe ~ severe ([OR]3.095; [CI]1.441-6.646)). The risk of probable sarcopenia increases with the depressive symptom severity in Korean elderly women.