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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Aging Neurosci.
Sec. Neurocognitive Aging and Behavior
Volume 16 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2024.1455546
This article is part of the Research Topic Lifestyle and Healthy Aging to Prevent Cognitive Decline and Dementia View all 14 articles

Grip Strength and depressive symptoms in Chinese middle-aged and older adults: The mediating effects of Cognitive Function

Provisionally accepted
Xinzheng Wang Xinzheng Wang Jiandong He Jiandong He *
  • Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: This study investigates the associations and mediating pathways between grip strength, cognitive function, and depression in middle-aged and elderly individuals in China.Methods: Utilizing data from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), we employed logistic regression and mediation analysis to examine the relationships and mediating factors between grip strength, cognitive function, and depression, while adjusting for potential confounders.Results: The study included 6,841 participants, of whom 1,734 (25.35%) exhibited symptoms of depression. Our findings indicate that weak grip strength is significantly associated with an increased risk of depression (OR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.32-1.87) among the middle-aged and elderly population. Conversely, good cognitive function was found to be protective against depression (OR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.93-0.95). Grip strength indirectly affected depression through cognitive function, accounting for 9.4% of the total effect (β=-0.008, 95% CI [-0.013, 0.004]). This mediating effect was 23.8% in men (β=-0.013, 95% CI [ -0.020, -0.007]); and 23.2% in those aged 60 years and over (β=-0.015, 95% CI [ (-0.022, -0.009]).This study highlights that weak Grip Strength Increases Risk of Depressive Symptoms, and adequate cognitive function can mitigate the association between weak grip strength and an increased risk of depression among middle-aged and elderly individuals in China. Psychological care for elder adults with weak Grip strength and poor cognitive function should be strengthened.

    Keywords: Grip strength, Cognitive Function, Depression symptoms, Mediation analysis, Older Chinese adults

    Received: 27 Jun 2024; Accepted: 30 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wang and He. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Jiandong He, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.