HMN 2026: How Healthy lifespan cut short by sex-dependent depressive symptoms in older adults

Depression is a serious mental health issue that can rob us of joy—and years of healthy living. While we know depressive symptoms can cut the remaining years of disability-free living (or “healthspan”) in older adults, it was unclear exactly which symptoms could be the culprit.

Researchers from Tohoku University, the Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization and the National Institute of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition have found that different patterns of depressive symptoms are associated with disability-free survival in community-dwelling older adults, and that these associations differ between men and women.

The study reveals which symptoms of depression are most closely linked to a reduced healthspan. Knowing which symptoms are the biggest red flags could help the public health sector form strategic, personalized plans. The study was published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

The study included 585 older adults participating in the Tsurugaya Project, a comprehensive geriatric cohort study conducted in the Tsurugaya area of Sendai, Japan. Participants were followed for 18 years, and the researchers examined the occurrence of disability requiring long-term care or death. Depressive symptoms and severity were measured using a combination of standardized tests such as the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15).

“Undertaking such a long-term follow-up study—spanning almost two decades—is a major undertaking,” said Ryoichi Nagatomi (Tohoku University). “But doing so gives us a way to zoom out and look at changes that might take time to occur, so we get the full picture.”

“Previous measures focused on total depression score, but our results suggest it may be useful to get a detailed, qualitative look at specific symptoms to understand a patient’s risk factors down the line and maybe even tailor preventive support programs to their needs,” Nagatomi said.

These findings suggest that mental health assessments in older adults should consider not only the severity of depression but also the specific types of depressive symptoms and sex differences.

In a rapidly aging society such as Japan, addressing paths toward supporting healthy longevity—such as identifying feelings of worthlessness in older men and anxiety in older women—is particularly important to provide support and prolong independent living.

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