The association between muscular strength and depression in Korean adults: a cross-sectional analysis of the sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES VI) 2014.

BACKGROUND: There are conflicting researches on the relationship between muscular strength and depression, the most common mental illness. There is no study of relationship between muscular strength and depression using national data from young adults to seniors. For example, there has not been a study done explaining mediating pathways among the influences of handgrip strength on depression. Here, we conducted survey for the association between relative handgrip strength and depression and explain mediated pathways for quality of life. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was administered to 4298 Korean adult subjects, aged 19-80 years, based on the 6th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES VI) of 2014. Handgrip strength reported as the average with each hand. The relative handgrip strength is defined as the handgrip strength divided by the body mass index (BMI). We performed analysis for all subjects and age groups (young adult, middle-aged, and elderly). We analyzed the association using multivariate linear regression and logistic regression. We also conducted mediation analysis for quality of life, which was measured by the EuroQol Five-Dimension Questionnaire (EQ5D). RESULTS: After adjusting for covariates, handgrip strength was inversely associated with the PHQ-9 score (P < 0.05). The odds ratios (OR) of depression symptoms were statistically significant for participants in the first and second quartile of handgrip strength compared to those with the highest quartile in entire sample, young adult, middle-aged, and elderly. There was about a 50% mediation effect of EQ5D in the relationship between handgrip strength and depression. CONCLUSIONS: Using a large national sample, our results found that lower handgrip strength is associated with an increased risk of depression in Korean adult (young adult, middle-aged, and elderly). Our results suggest that increasing muscular strength may prevent depression in Korean adults.

Association between muscle strength and type 2 diabetes mellitus in adults in Korea: Data from the Korea national health and nutrition examination survey (KNHANES) VI.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a significant chronic disease, and health burden from DM is increasing. Recently, studies on the relationship between handgrip strength, which is a measuring tool for muscle strength, and type 2 DM were published. However, the results have been conflicting. In addition, few studies that used data from adults in Korea have been conducted. Thus, this study aimed to identify the association between handgrip strength as well as type 2 DM and insulin resistance in adults using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2014 to 2015. Inflammation is a condition affecting the muscle strength of individuals with type 2 DM; therefore, its mediating effects were also examined.We included 8208 participants aged between 19 and 80 years who had undergone a handgrip test and had received information about type 2 DM. General linear and binary logistic regression models were used to examine the association between handgrip strength and type 2 DM variables. In addition, mediation analysis was conducted to estimate the role of inflammation in the relationship between handgrip strength and type 2 DM.After adjusting for age, sex, education, alcohol consumption, lifetime smoking, obesity, and aerobic physical activity, handgrip strength was inversely associated with fasting glucose, HbA1c, and fasting insulin levels as well as the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) score. Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that handgrip strength was significantly inversely associated with type 2 DM and insulin resistance. The high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), an inflammation-related biomarker, mediated approximately 10% of the association between handgrip strength and type 2 DM.Using large, well-defined, nationally representative cross-sectional data on adults in Korea, we found that handgrip strength, which is an indicator of muscle strength, was associated with type 2 DM.