Objectives: To examine the association between life-space mobility and different dimensions of depressive symptoms among older community-dwelling people. Methods: Cross-sectional analyses of baseline data of the ‘Life-Space Mobility in Old Age’ cohort study were carried out. The participants were community-dwelling women and men aged 75–90 years (N = 848). Data were gathered via structured interviews in participants’ home. Life-space mobility (the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Life-Space Assessment – questionnaire) and depressive symptoms (Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, CES-D) were assessed. Other factors examined included sociodemographic factors, difficulties walking 500 m, number of chronic diseases and the sense of autonomy in participation outdoors (subscale of Impact on Participation and Autonomy questionnaire). Results: Poorer life-space mobility was associated with higher prevalence of different dimensions of depressive symptoms. The associations were partially mediated through walking difficulties, health and the sense of autonomy in participation outdoor activities. Conclusion: Poorer life-space mobility interrelates with higher probability for depressive symptoms, thus compromising older adults’ mental wellbeing. A focus on older adults’ life-space mobility may assist early identification of persons, who have elevated risk for depressive symptoms. The association between life-space mobility and depressive symptoms should be studied further utilizing longitudinal study designs to examine temporality and potential causality.

High body mass index (BMI) is known to be associated with elevated blood pressure (BP). The present study aims to determine the relative importance of the two components of BMI, fat mass and lean body mass index, on BP levels. We assessed body composition with bioimpedance and performed 24 hour ambulatory BP measurements in 534 individuals (mean age 61 ± 3 years) who had no cardiovascular medication. Fat mass index and lean mass index were calculated analogously to BMI as fat mass or lean body mass (kg) divided by the square of height (m²). Both fat mass index and lean mass index showed a positive, small to moderate relationship with all 24 hour BP components independently of age, sex, smoking, and leisure-time physical activity. There were no interaction effects between fat mass index and lean mass index on the mean BP levels. Adult lean body mass is a significant determinant of BP levels with an equal, albeit small to moderate magnitude as fat mass. Relatively high amount of muscle mass may not be beneficial to cardiovascular health.