| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1076034 | International Journal of Nursing Studies | 2015 | 9 Pages |
BackgroundDepression and physical frailty in older persons are both associated with somatic diseases, but are hardly examined in concert.ObjectivesTo examine whether depression and physical frailty act independently and/or synergistically in their association with somatic diseases.DesignBaseline data of an ongoing observational cohort study including depressed cases and non-depressed comparison subjects.SettingsNetherlands Study of Depression in Older persons (NESDO).Participants378 depressed older persons confirmed by the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), version 2.1, and 132 non-depressed comparison subjects.MethodsMultiple linear regression analyses adjusted for socio-demographic and life-style characteristics were conducted with the number of somatic diseases as the dependent variable and depression and physical frailty as independent variables. Physical frailty was defined as ≥3 of the following characteristics, slowness, low physical activity, weight loss, exhaustion, and weakness.ResultsDepression and physical frailty did not interact in explaining variance in the number of somatic diseases (p = .57). Physical frailty, however, partly mediated the association between depression and somatic diseases, as the strength of this association decreased by over 10% when frailty was added to the model (B = 0.47, p = .003, versus B = 0.41, p = .01). The mediation effect was primarily driven by the frailty criterion exhaustion. Of the remaining frailty components, only slowness was associated with the number of somatic diseases; but this association was fully independent of depression.ConclusionsOur results suggest that depression and physical frailty have common pathways towards somatic diseases, as well as unique pathways. As no high-risk group was identified (no significant interaction), mental health nurses should regularly monitor for physical frailty within their caseload of depressed patients.
