Can 24 weeks strength training reduce feelings of depression and increase neurotransmitter in elderly females?

Background: Geriatric depression is common due to the high rate of chronic diseases suffered by the older population. There is a well-established effect of exercise on one's wellbeing, however, for the elderly females there is dearth in research addressing exercise and its effect on their neurotransmitters and depression score. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of 24 weeks of the Growing Stronger program on neurotransmitter and depression of older women.

Methods: Twenty-one older women, aged between 67 and 81, participated in this study. The participants were randomly assigned into a strength exercise (n = 11) and control group (n = 10) (age 76.40 ± 3.27, height 152.77 ± 5.63 kg, Weight 52.35 ± 2.86Kg, BMI 22.50 ± 1.88). The strength exercise group (age 76.10 ± 3.85, height 151.14 ± 5.42 kg, Weight 54.74 ± 6.73Kg, BMI 23.96 ± 2.70) participated for 50-80 min a day three times per week for a total of 24 weeks. All participants had their height, weight, blood testing and depression score tested before and after the training program. Two-way ANOVA with effect sizes was used to identify differences between times in each group and the statistical significance was set at 0.05.

Results: In neurotransmitter factor, serotonin, dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine significantly decreased in the strength exercise group but not for the control group. Notably, one participant whose serotonin level was lower than normal range before the exercise program showed normal level in serotonin after the program. In depression factor, there were no significant differences for both the strength exercise group and control group.

Conclusion: The results suggest that the effect of strength exercise on neurotransmitter and depression score remain unclear, but highlight the need for future studies investigating the relationship between strength training and depression.