A study by a group including Assistant Professor Hiroyuki Kiko, Professor Daisuke Asaoka, Associate Professor Koji Kanno, Associate Professor Kei Matsuno, and Special Professor Katsumi Miyauchi of Juntendo University found that depressive symptoms in the elderly are associated with constipation symptoms.
Mood disorders, including depression, are common among the elderly and have been reported to not only reduce quality of life (QOL), but also cause appetite loss and affect life prognosis. Constipation, like depression, also reduces QOL and is a common disorder among the elderly. However, no research has examined in detail the relationship between depression and constipation in the elderly.
Therefore, this research group examined the correlation between the severity of depressive symptoms and gastrointestinal symptom-related QOL and constipation severity using data from 984 patients at the Juntendo Tokyo Koto Geriatric Medical Center, a university hospital specializing in geriatric care at Juntendo University School of Medicine. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS15), gastrointestinal symptom-related QOL questionnaire (Izumo Scale), and constipation severity was assessed using the Constipation Scoring System (CSS), all of which are internationally widely used assessment scales.
As a result, we found that the severity of depressive symptoms was related to a decline in QOL for all upper and lower abdominal symptoms (reflux, stomach pain, stomach upset, constipation, and diarrhea).We also found that the severity of constipation symptoms was proportional to the intensity of depressive symptoms.This is the first time in Japan that depressive symptoms in the elderly are related to constipation symptoms.
Since both depression and constipation symptoms affect the healthy longevity of the elderly, the study suggests the importance of preventing and intervening in depression and constipation symptoms in the elderly with the goal of extending healthy lifespan in Japan, a super-aged society in which people can live to 100 years old.
Paper information: [Diagnostics] Association of Constipation and Geriatric Depressive symptoms: Cross-Sectional Analysis Using Baseline Data from the JUSTICE-TOKYO Prospective Cohort Study
