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The Bidirectional Association between Depressive Symptoms and Gait Speed: Evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)

Demakakos, P; Cooper, R; Hamer, M; de Oliveira, C; Hardy, R; Breeze, E; (2013) The Bidirectional Association between Depressive Symptoms and Gait Speed: Evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). PLoS One , 8 (7) , Article e68632. 10.1371/journal.pone.0068632. Green open access

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Abstract

Background Depressive symptoms and physical performance are inversely associated, but it is unclear whether their association is bidirectional. We examined whether the association between depressive symptoms and physical performance measured using gait speed is bidirectional. Methods We used a national sample of 4,581 community-dwelling people aged 60 years and older from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (from 2002–03 to 2008-09). We fitted Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) regression models to analyse repeated measurements of gait speed (m/sec) and elevated depressive symptoms (defined as a score of ≥4 on the eight-item Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale). Results Slower gait speed was associated with elevated depressive symptoms both concurrently and two years later. After adjustment for previous depressive symptoms and sociodemographic, clinical, lifestyle, psychosocial, and cognitive factors the concurrent association was partially explained (Odds Ratio [OR] 0.42, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.30 to 0.59, per 1m/sec increase in gait speed) and the two-year lagged association fully (OR 0.75, 95% CI, 0.56 to 1.00). Elevated depressive symptoms were associated with slower gait speed. Full adjustment for covariates (including previous gait speed) partially explained both the concurrent (β regression coefficient [β] -0.038, 95% CI, -0.050 to -0.026, for participants with elevated depressive symptoms compared with those with no or one symptom) and the two-year lagged associations (β -0.017, 95% CI, -0.030 to -0.005). Subthreshold depressive symptoms (defined as a score of two or three on the eight-item Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale) were also associated with slower gait speed. Full adjustment for covariates partially explained both the concurrent (β -0.029, 95% CI, -0.039 to -0.019, for participants with subthreshold symptoms compared with those with no or one symptom) and the two-year lagged associations (β -0.011, 95% CI, -0.021 to -0.001). Conclusions The inverse association between gait speed and depressive symptoms appears to be bidirectional.

Type: Article
Title: The Bidirectional Association between Depressive Symptoms and Gait Speed: Evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)
Location: United States
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068632
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0068632
Language: English
Additional information: © 2013 Demakakos et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. PMCID: PMC3706406
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Social Research Institute
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Surgery and Interventional Sci
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Epidemiology and Public Health
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1401038
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