Objective:

Late-life depression (LLD) is a severe public health problem. Given that pharmacological treatments for LLD are limited by their side effects, development of efficient and tolerable nonpharmacological treatment for LLD is urgently required. This study investigated whether high-frequency external muscle stimulation could reduce depressive symptoms in LLD.

Methods:

Twenty-two older male veterans with major depression were recruited and randomized into a treatment (n = 9) or sham control group (n = 13). The groups received high-frequency external muscle stimulation or sham intervention 3 times per week for 12 weeks. Clinical symptoms and muscle strength were evaluated at baseline and every 2 weeks.

Results:

The 2 groups were homogeneous in age, baseline clinical symptoms, and muscle strength. The treatment group showed significant improvement in depression and anxiety scores and muscle strength (all P < .01), whereas the control group showed no significant change after the 12-week follow-up. Compared to the control group, the treatment group showed significant improvements in depression (Geriatric Depression Scale, P = .009; Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, P = .007) and anxiety scores (HAMA, P = .008) and muscle strength (all P < .001). Changes in depression and anxiety levels were significantly correlated with changes in muscle strength after the study. In the treatment group, we observed a trend of correlation between the reduction in depression and muscle strength gains.

Conclusion:

High-frequency external muscle stimulation appears to be an effective treatment for older patients with LLD. Large studies with more tests and/or conducted in different populations are warranted to validate these preliminary findings.

中文翻译：

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高频外部肌肉刺激减少了老年男性退伍军人的抑郁症状：一项初步研究

目的：

晚期抑郁症（LLD）是严重的公共卫生问题。鉴于LLD的药物治疗受到其副作用的限制，因此迫切需要开发有效且可耐受的LLD非药物治疗。这项研究调查了高频外部肌肉刺激是否可以减轻LLD的抑郁症状。

方法：

招募了22名患有严重抑郁症的老年男性退伍军人，并随机分为治疗组（n = 9）或假对照组（n = 13）。这些组每周接受3次高频外部肌肉刺激或假手术，持续12周。在基线和每2周评估一次临床症状和肌肉力量。

结果：

两组的年龄，基线临床症状和肌肉力量均相同。治疗组在抑郁和焦虑评分以及肌肉力量方面均表现出显着改善（所有P <.01），而对照组在随访12周后未显示出明显变化。与对照组相比，治疗组在抑郁（老年抑郁量表，P = .009；汉密尔顿抑郁量表，P = .007）和焦虑评分（HAMA，P = .008）和肌肉力量（所有方面）方面均有显着改善。P<.001）。研究后，抑郁和焦虑水平的变化与肌肉力量的变化显着相关。在治疗组中，我们观察到抑郁症的减少与肌肉力量增加之间的相关趋势。

结论：

高频外部肌肉刺激似乎是老年LLD患者的有效治疗方法。有必要进行更多试验和/或在不同人群中进行的大规模研究，以验证这些初步发现。