Sarcopenia Is Not Associated with Depression in Korean Adults: Results from the 2010–2011 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

BACKGROUND: Sarcopenia is associated with metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, and mortality; however, its association with depression in the general population remains unknown. Therefore, we investigated this association in Korea. METHODS: This study included 8,958 and 8,518 subjects from the 2010–2011 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey V-1, 2. The study was restricted to participants ≥20 years of age who had completed the survey, including whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans. After exclusion, 7,364 subjects were included in our final analysis. Age was categorized into three groups (20–39, 40–59, and ≥60 years), and subjects were categorized according to their sarcopenic and obesity status. Depression was categorized into three groups (not depressed, depressed, and depression). RESULTS: The sarcopenia group did not have a higher prevalence of depression or depressive symptoms compared to the nonsarcopenia group; the same was true even when obesity was considered. All age groups showed non-significant associations between sarcopenia and depression. In multivariate logistic regression models, no significant associations were observed between sarcopenia and prevalence of depression or depressed symptoms in men and women. CONCLUSION: We found no associations between sarcopenia and the prevalence of depression or depressed symptoms in Korean adults. Future large prospective studies and randomized controlled trials are needed to further assess this relationship.