Marques, Adilson Passos da CostaTeixeira, Pedro Jorge do Amaral de MeloVeiga, Diogo Miguel Carvalho Veiga2025-03-272025-03-272024http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/99790Background: Depression, as one of the leading causes of disease burden, frequently co-occurs with other diseases. Cancer seems to be strongly associated with depression more than any other disease. As an outcome of physical fitness, grip strength seems to have a protective effect on depression. This study aimed to analyse how grip strength moderates the relationship between cancer and depressive symptomatology among older European adults. Methods: Cross-sectional data from wave 8 (2019/2020), including 41666 participants (17986 men) of the population-based Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe, were analysed. Grip strength, used as the moderator, was measured twice on each hand using a dynamometer. The EURO-D 12-item scale was used to measure depressive symptomatology. Results: Grip strength had a significant effect as a moderator in the association between cancer and depressive symptoms (male: B= -0.025, 95% CI = -0.04, -0.01; female: B = -0.02, 95% CI = -0.04, 0.00). Also, the grip strength moderation values are below 55.3kg for males and 39.4kg for females. Conclusions: Muscular fitness, as measured by grip strength, moderated the relationship between cancer and depressive symptomatology. This supports the theory that recovery programs could include physical activity, namely muscle-strengthening exercises, to prevent depression..engDepressionElderlyFitnessHandgripModerationPreventive medicinedoctoral thesis101804881