碩士 / 國立臺灣大學 / 公共衛生碩士學位學程 / 106 / Population ageing is a public health issue that is attracting attention. Aging would impact on not only physical but also psychological health, and depressive disorders are common in the middle-aged and elderly population. Subthreshold depression can be defined as a constellation of depressive symptoms that is insufficient to make a diagnosis of major depression; however, it is not uncommon in the general population. For example, a community study based on 1500 participants aged 65 and over from South Taiwan showed that the 1-month prevalence rate of depressive disorders was 21.3%; 5.9% fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of major depression, and the rest could be seen as having subthreshold depression. Subthreshold depression is under-detected and under-treated in the middle-aged and elderly population as the symptoms were commonly masked by physical illness or depressive mood was seldom reported in this population. Subthreshold depression would not only impact on the quality of life but also may progress to major depressive disorder. Interventions for subthreshold depression may reduce depressive symptomatology, improve the quality of life, and prevent the onset of major depression.
Previous studies show that physical activity interventions have positive impacts on depression. Most research focuses on aerobic exercise training (AET) interventions, which may not be appropriate for the older population who has poorer physical conditions. Compared to aerobic exercise training, the resistance exercise training (RET) has the benefits of increasing muscular strength and bone density, improving body balance, and perhaps enhancing mental health. Resistance exercise can strengthen muscle and stimulate bone growth by training the joints and muscles against an applied force. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of resistance exercise training on subthreshold depression among the middle-aged and elderly population.
The participants of this study were middle-aged or elderly outpatients, individuals who participated in cancer screening, or hospital volunteers at Luo-Dong Saint Mary’s Hospital. The 13 participants (aged 63.2±9.3 years) were assessed using the Taiwan Geriatric Depression Scale (TGDS-30) and had a total score of 8-19. Participants were randomly assigned to the resistance exercise training intervention group or the control group, to which an educational sheet about physical activity was given. Participants in the intervention program group received a resistance exercise training program, once a week, 60-minute a session, for 10 weeks. All participants were assessed for the following twice before and after the intervention: depressive symptoms, cognitive function, quality of life, and physical fitness. Paired t test was used to analyze the within-group before-and-after differences. Mann-Whitney U Test and Generalized Estimating Equation were used to examine the effect of the resistance exercise training intervention program.
We found that the TGDS-30 score decreased more in the intervention group (n=7) than in the control group (n=6). Compared to the control group, participants in the intervention group improved more in physical fitness including the lower body strength (30s chair stand), lower body flexibility (chair sit-and-reach), static balance ability (one leg stand), dynamic and agility balance ability (up and go). However, there was no statistical evidence for any of the above differences (p＞0.05).
The findings suggest beneficial effects of resistance exercise training on subthreshold depression among the middle-aged and elderly population. However, the effectiveness of the intervention could not be confirmed due to small number of participants. Future trials should increase the number of participants and improve the ease with accessing the intervention. If the effect of resistance exercise training on subthreshold depression can be confirmed, such intervention may have the potential to become an accessible option to alleviate depression symptoms in the community.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TW/106NTU05058020 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Yi-Hsuan Wu, 吳怡萱 |
| Contributors | Shu-Sen Chang, 張書森 |
| Source Sets | National Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations in Taiwan |
| Language | zh-TW |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | 學位論文 ; thesis |
| Format | 59 |
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