Psychological wellbeing predicts level of early physical frailty marker – Subjective chronic stress is a mediator in men but not women

Objectives

Few studies investigated protective factors for physical frailty and their association with first pathological changes. We targeted early frailty markers and their link to psychological wellbeing. As psychological wellbeing influences stress-coping and stress can increase frailty risk, we additionally investigated whether chronic stress explains the wellbeing-frailty relationship.

Methods

In total, 532 healthy adults (49.44% women; mean age: 54.36; range: 40-73) were investigated. Handgrip strength (HGS) and lean body mass index (LBMI) were investigated as frailty markers. Self-rated chronic stress and cortisol were assessed as stress indicators.

Results

Psychological wellbeing was positively linked to HGS in men (p<.001) and women (p<.05), but not to LBMI. In men but not women, was the association of psychological wellbeing with HGS (95%CI[-.2135,-.0028]) partially mediated by self-reported chronic stress.

Discussion and Conclusion

This is the first study indicating that higher psychological wellbeing goes along with more beneficial HGS and suggesting a sex-specific influence of chronic stress.