Interactions Between Depression and Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms: The Role of Adverse Life Events and Inflammatory Mechanisms. Results From the European Male Ageing Study.

OBJECTIVES: Depression and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTSs) have been found to co-occur among aging men. The present study attempted to clarify the nature of this relationship, considering adverse life events as potential moderators and the inflammation as an underlying biological mechanism. METHODS: The relationship between depression and LUTS was evaluated using data from the European Male Ageing Study, the largest multicenter population-based study of aging in European men. The sample included 3369 men who were assessed by means of several self-reported questionnaires, including the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the International Prostate Symptom Score, and the Adverse Life Events Scale. Participants were asked to provide information regarding general health and life-style, and medical comorbidities. Biological measures including prostate-specific antigen, testosterone, and C-reactive protein were measured. RESULTS: LUTS and depressive symptoms were correlated (R = 0.32, ß = .10, p < .001), even after adjusting for life-style, psychological, and medical variables. A history of adverse life events was associated with both higher LUTS and Beck Depression Inventory scores. Furthermore, adverse life events moderated the LUTS-depression association (F = 22.62, b = 0.061, p < .001), which increased as a function of the number of life events. C-reactive protein was found to mediate the LUTS-depression association. This mediation effect was moderated by number of adverse life events. CONCLUSIONS: Participants with a history of adverse life events represent a vulnerable population in whom the association between somatic and depressive symptoms is stronger. One of the biological mechanisms underlying this association could be an activation of the central inflammatory signaling pathways.

Predictors of Speed Using Off-Ice Measures of College Hockey Players.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between commonly employed dry-land performance tests and skating speed in male collegiate ice hockey players. Forty male National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I hockey players were tested on the following performance variables: vertical jump (VJ), standing broad jump, 40-yard dash, and maximal back squat (SQT). The subjects also performed 3 skating tests: the 90-ft forward acceleration test, the 90-ft backward acceleration test, and the 50-ft flying top speed test (F50). Pearson correlation coefficients were applied to compare the strength of association between each selected off-ice measure and each on-ice measure. Three multiple regression equations were then used to compare the weighted strengths of association between predictor and criterion variables. Only VJ showed significance in relation to skating speed (p = 0.011). These results suggest that meaningful performance testing in ice hockey players should occur mainly on the ice.