BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Aging
Sec. Musculoskeletal Aging
Association between abdominal muscle mass quantified by computed tomography and depression in middle-aged and older Korean men: A cross-sectional study of 2,877 cases
Provisionally accepted
- Ulsan University Hospital, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
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Background: Depression is a prevalent mental health concern in aging populations and is associated with increased morbidity and reduced quality of life. While psychosocial and biochemical factors have been widely studied, the role of muscle mass, particularly abdominal muscle mass, in depression remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association between abdominal muscle mass, as measured by computed tomography (CT), and depression in middle-aged and older Korean men. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included 2,877 men aged ≥40 years who underwent both abdominopelvic CT and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) as part of a general health examination. Abdominal muscle mass was quantified using the total abdominal muscle area (TAMA) at the L3 vertebral level. Depression was defined as a BDI score ≥16. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the association between TAMA and depression, adjusting for age, body mass index, lifestyle factors, comorbidities, and biochemical markers. Results: The prevalence of depression decreased across increasing TAMA quartiles (p = 0.018). Higher TAMA was independently associated with a lower risk of depression. In the fully adjusted model, participants in the highest TAMA quartile had a significantly reduced odds of depression compared to those in the lowest quartile (adjusted OR, 0.534; 95% CI, 0.297–0.958; p = 0.035). Conclusions: Greater abdominal muscle mass, as assessed by CT, was significantly associated with a lower prevalence of depression in middle-aged and older Korean men. These findings suggest that abdominal muscle mass may be a marker of mental health during aging.
Keywords: Abdominal muscle mass, computed tomography, Depression, Older men, Sarcopenia
Received: 29 Jun 2025; Accepted: 06 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Jeong, Jeon and Lim. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Doo-Ho Lim
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