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©The Author(s) 2026. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Feb 19, 2026; 16(2): 112901
Published online Feb 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i2.112901
Published online Feb 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i2.112901
Sarcopenia in older adults: Prevalence and links to depression and physical activity
Wen-Na Sha, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine One, Xiasha Campus, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang Province, China
Dan Chen, Hua-Fang Li, Xiang-Ying Yang, Department of Geriatrics, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310020, Zhejiang Province, China
Mei-Jie Zhou, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine Three, Xiasha Campus, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Sha WN, Chen D, Li HF and Zhou MJ contributed to research design, data collection, data analysis, and paper writing; Yang XY was responsible for research design, funding application, data analysis, reviewing and editing, communication coordination, ethical review, copyright and licensing, and follow-up.
Supported by 2024 Annual Project of Medical and Health Science and Technology of Zhejiang Province, No. 2024KY184.
Institutional review board statement: The research was reviewed and approved by Institutional Review Board of Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Westlake University (Approval No. KY-20240619-0212-01).
Informed consent statement: All research participants or their legal guardians provided written informed consent prior to study registration.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflict of interest is associated with this work.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: No other data available.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xiang-Ying Yang, PhD, Department of Geriatrics, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Westlake University, No. 261 Huansha Road, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang Province, China.
Received: September 16, 2025
Revised: October 23, 2025
Accepted: December 2, 2025
Published online: February 19, 2026
Processing time: 135 Days and 22 Hours
Revised: October 23, 2025
Accepted: December 2, 2025
Published online: February 19, 2026
Processing time: 135 Days and 22 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study explores the relationship between sarcopenia, depressive symptoms, and physical activity levels in older adults. It highlights the high prevalence of sarcopenia and its association with mental health and lifestyle factors. Depressive symptoms may worsen muscle loss, while appropriate physical activity, especially resistance and aerobic exercises, can help prevent and alleviate the condition. The findings aim to support early detection and targeted interventions, offering important insights for public health strategies.