Cross-sectional associations of leisure and transport related physical activity with depression and anxiety

Impact of leisure physical activity and resistance exercise on the prevalence of depressive symptoms in Korean adults: Analysis of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

BACKGROUND

Various physical activity (PA) guidelines recommend leisure PA and resistance exercise (RE). However, the impact of PA and RE on the prevalence of depressive symptoms remains unclear. We investigated whether meeting PA and RE guidelines is associated with the prevalence of depressive symptoms using nationally representative samples.

METHODS

We analyzed data from 11,829 (5111 male and 6718 female) participants aged 19+ years in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016 and 2018). Those with doctor's diagnosis of depression or with a cut-off score of ≥11 on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 were defined as having depressive symptoms. PA and RE were measured using a validated Global PA Questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between participating in leisure PA, simultaneously meeting RE guidelines, and experiencing depressive symptoms.

RESULTS

Those who participated in leisure PA and met RE guidelines had a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms than those who did not (p for trend <0.001). After adjusting for covariates, those who participated in leisure PA and met RE guideline were significantly less likely to have depressive symptoms in male (OR = 0.52, 95 % CI 0.32-0.84) and female (OR = 0.71, 95 % CI 0.48-1.06), compared with those who did not participate in leisure PA but also did not meet RE guideline.

LIMITATIONS

The cross-sectional nature of the data prevented causal claims.

CONCLUSIONS

Participation in leisure PA and RE was associated with a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms. This suggests both leisure PA and RE should be encouraged as effective means for preventing depression.

Association between physical activity and depression in adult prescription opioid users: A cross-sectional analysis based on NHANES 2007-2018

OBJECTIVE

This study was designed to examine the association between physical activity (PA) and depression among adult prescription opioid users.

METHOD

Data of adults who recently took prescription opioids were collected from NHANES 2007-2018. Participants were divided into two groups according to whether PA in each domain was ≥600 MET-min/week. According to weekly activity frequency, recreational physical activity (RPA) was divided into inactivity, insufficient activity, weekend warrior (WW), and regular activity. PHQ-9 scores ≥10 were identified as depression.

RESULTS

RPA of ≥600 MET-min/week was associated with a 40% (OR: 0.60, 95%CI: 0.38-0.96, P = 0.032) reduction in the risk of depression. Restricted Cubic Spline plots found a nonlinear dose-response relationship between RPA and depression (P = 0.045), and the turning point of depression risk was around 600 MET-min/week. There was no significant difference in the risk of depression between the WW and inactivity groups (OR: 0.65, 95%CI: 0.25-1.72, P = 0.382). The regular activity group had an 45% (OR: 0.55, 95%CI: 0.31-0.99, P = 0.046)lower risk for depression than the inactivity group.

CONCLUSION

Only regular RPA is associated with a reduced risk of depression, and RPA showed a nonlinear dose-response relationship. The antidepressant effect of the WW is not significant.

The association of changes in leisure-time physical activity on depressive symptoms during Covid-19 in German adults: A longitudinal study

This longitudinal survey assessed preventive and curative antidepressant effects of at least 75 min/week of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) at different timepoints of the Covid-19 pandemic. We further investigated if high self-regulation skills were associated with higher odds of initiating or maintaining LTPA during the pandemic. Data was collected online from 4253 participants (age: m = 33.65 years, SD = 0.79; 79 % female) during the first quarantine measures in Germany (T1), as well as 4 weeks (T2), and 8 months (T3) later. We performed linear mixed models with changes (T2-T1, T3-T1) in LTPA and baseline major depressive disorder (MDD) as predictors (main effects and interaction effect) and depressive symptoms (at T2, T3) as the primary outcome. We found significant interaction effects of baseline depression and change in LTPA on depressive symptoms at T2 and T3 (p < 0.001). For probable cases of MDD an increasing LTPA to ≥75 min/week (vs. no change, <75 min/week) was associated with less depressive symptoms at T2 and T3 (p = 0.003, d = 0.28). For absence of depression at baseline, remaining at ≥75 min/week of LTPA was associated with less depressive symptoms at T2 and T3 compared to remaining at <75 min/week (p = 0.006, d = 0.11) or decreasing LTPA to <75 min/week (p = 0.018, d = 0.11). Reporting high self-regulation at T1 was associated with higher odds of performing ≥75 min/week of LTPA at T2/T3 (OR = 1.74, p < 0.001). In general, studies report reduced LTPA during Covid-19. To benefit from the reported preventive and interventional effects, further interventions should focus on improving physical activity related self-regulation to identify and overcome barriers for LTPA.

Dissecting the causal association between social or physical inactivity and depression: a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian Randomization study

A growing body of research suggests that social or physical activity can affect the risk of Major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the bidirectional relationship between them remains to be clarified further, especially between inactivity and MDD. Here, we performed a two-sample Mendelian Randomization analysis using genetic variants associated with social/physical activities and MDD, and assessed the mediating effect of obesity-related measures and brain imaging phenotypes. The dataset on MDD, social activities, and physical activities included 500,199; 461,369; 460,376 individuals, respectively. Information regarding body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage (BFP), IDPs for 454,633; 461,460; 8,428 participants, respectively. We identified bidirectional causal relationships between sport clubs or gyms, strenuous sports, heavy do-it-youself, other exercises and MDD. We also observed that leisure/social inactivity (odds ratio [OR] = 1.64; P = 5.14 × 10^-5) or physical inactivity (OR = 3.67; P = 1.99 × 10^-5) caused an increased risk of MDD, which were partially mediated by BMI or BFP and masked by the weighted-mean orientation dispersion index of left acoustic radiation or volume of right caudate. Furthermore, we discovered that MDD increased the risk of leisure/social inactivity (OR = 1.03; P = 9.89 × 10^-4) or physical inactivity (OR = 1.01; P = 7.96 × 10^-4). In conclusions, we found that social/physical activities reduced the risk of MDD, while MDD in turn hindered social/physical activities. Inactivity may increase the risk of MDD, which was mediated or masked by brain imaging phenotypes. These results help to understand the manifestations of MDD and provide evidence and direction for the advancement of intervention and prevention.

Clinical guidelines for the use of lifestyle-based mental health care in major depressive disorder: World Federation of Societies for Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) and Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine (ASLM) taskforce

OBJECTIVES

The primary objectives of these international guidelines were to provide a global audience of clinicians with (a) a series of evidence-based recommendations for the provision of lifestyle-based mental health care in clinical practice for adults with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and (b) a series of implementation considerations that may be applicable across a range of settings.

METHODS

Recommendations and associated evidence-based gradings were based on a series of systematic literature searches of published research as well as the clinical expertise of taskforce members. The focus of the guidelines was eight lifestyle domains: physical activity and exercise, smoking cessation, work-directed interventions, mindfulness-based and stress management therapies, diet, sleep, loneliness and social support, and green space interaction. The following electronic bibliographic databases were searched for articles published prior to June 2020: PubMed, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Cochrane Methodology Register), CINAHL, PsycINFO. Evidence grading was based on the level of evidence specific to MDD and risk of bias, in accordance with the World Federation of Societies for Biological Psychiatry criteria.

RESULTS

Nine recommendations were formed. The recommendations with the highest ratings to improve MDD were the use of physical activity and exercise, relaxation techniques, work-directed interventions, sleep, and mindfulness-based therapies (Grade 2). Interventions related to diet and green space were recommended, but with a lower strength of evidence (Grade 3). Recommendations regarding smoking cessation and loneliness and social support were based on expert opinion. Key implementation considerations included the need for input from allied health professionals and support networks to implement this type of approach, the importance of partnering such recommendations with behaviour change support, and the need to deliver interventions using a biopsychosocial-cultural framework.

CONCLUSIONS

Lifestyle-based interventions are recommended as a foundational component of mental health care in clinical practice for adults with Major Depressive Disorder, where other evidence-based therapies can be added or used in combination. The findings and recommendations of these guidelines support the need for further research to address existing gaps in efficacy and implementation research, especially for emerging lifestyle-based approaches (e.g. green space, loneliness and social support interventions) where data are limited. Further work is also needed to develop innovative approaches for delivery and models of care, and to support the training of health professionals regarding lifestyle-based mental health care.

Physical activity domains and incident clinical depression: A 4-year follow-up analysis from the ELSA-Brasil cohort

AIM

To analyze the prospective dose-response relationships between total and domain-specific physical activity (PA) with incident clinical depression.

METHODS

We used data from two waves (Wave 1: August/2008-December 2010; Wave 2: September/2012-December/2014) of the Brazilian Longitudinal Health Study (ELSA-Brasil) cohort study. Self-reported PA (total, transport, and leisure-time) was the main exposure. Incident clinical depression (new cases of depression between waves) was assessed through the Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised (CIS-R). Poisson regression models, adjusting for potential confounders, were used for data analysis.

RESULTS

In 12,709 adults (53.8 % women, mean age: 51.9 ± 9.0), moderate and high volumes of total PA (1-149 min/week: RR = 0.81, 0.58-1.13, 150-299 min/week: RR = 0.55, 95%CI: 0.40-0.76; ≥300 min/week: RR = 0.64, 95%CI: 0.52-0.80), and any volume of leisure-time PA (1-149 min/week: RR = 0.65, 95%CI: 0.50-0.83; 150-299 min/week: RR = 0.67, 95%CI: 0.52-0.88; RR = 0.61, 95%CI: 0.45-0.82) were associated with a lower risk of incident clinical depression. Transport PA protective only in the lower category (0.1-4.4 mMET-h/wk) (RR = 0.71, 95%CI: 0.54-0.94).

LIMITATIONS

Other PA domains such as occupational and domestic were not assessed; the use of self-report measures for PA which may be subject to bias and recall issues; lack of assessment of additional potential confounders, such as sedentary behavior and family history of depression.

CONCLUSION

Total and leisure-time PA were associated with lower incidence of clinical depression, even at lower doses. Low, moderate, and high volumes of total and leisure-time PA were associated with lower risk of incident clinical depression. Public health PA interventions aiming to prevent development of clinical depression should consider focusing on leisure-time PA.

The relationship between physical activity and depressive symptoms is domain-specific, age-dependent, and non-linear: An analysis of the Brazilian national health survey

Although there is consistent evidence of the beneficial effects of leisure physical activity (PA) on mental health, the role of PA in the domestic, transport, and occupational domains is inconclusive. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between domain-specific PA and depressive symptoms and examine whether the association is moderated by age in a representative sample of the Brazilian population. Cross-sectional data of 89,923 (52.4% female) individuals aged ≥15 years were analyzed. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Physical activity (min/week) performed in different domains (domestic, transport, occupation, and leisure) was self-reported. Generalized additive models with penalized splines were used to explore associations. Lower leisure-time PA and higher levels of PA in the domestic, occupational, and transport domains at distinct PA thresholds were associated with higher depressive symptoms. Leisure PA, even at lower levels, was associated with lower depressive symptoms compared to no PA at all. The increase in depressive symptoms as a function of occupational PA was observed only at PA levels higher than 40 h/week. Although non-leisure PA levels were related to higher depressive symptoms among the total sample, higher domestic and transport PA levels were related to lower depressive symptoms among older adults. This study provides insights into the non-linearity and age-group dependence of the relationship between domain-specific PA and depressive symptoms in a middle-income country. The evidence suggests that care should be taken on recommending PA regardless of context or domain.

Association of domain-specific physical activity with depressive symptoms: A population-based study

BACKGROUND

It remains unclear whether all physical activity (PA) domains (e.g., occupation-related PA [OPA], transportation-related PA [TPA], and leisure-time PA [LTPA]) have equivalent beneficial relationships. We aimed to investigate the associations of OPA, TPA, and LTPA with depressive symptoms in adults.

METHODS

We included and analyzed 31,221 participants (aged ≥18 years) from the cross-sectional 2007-2018 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The PA domains were assessed by a self-report questionnaire and categorized based on the PA guidelines. Depressive symptoms were measured by the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire.

RESULTS

Participants achieving PA guidelines (≥150 min/week) were 26% (odds ratio [OR] 0.74, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.68-0.80) and 43% (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.51-0.62) less likely to have depressive symptoms depending on total PA and LTPA, respectively, while OPA or TPA did not demonstrate lower risks of depressive symptoms. LTPA at levels of 1-149, 150-299, and ≥300 min/week was associated with 31% (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.60-0.78), 43% (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.49-0.67), and 51% (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.43-0.55) lower odds of depressive symptoms, respectively.

CONCLUSION

LTPA, but not OPA or TPA, was associated with a lower risk of depressive symptoms at any amount, suggesting that significant mental health would benefit from increased PA, even at levels below the recommendation.

Associations between depression, domain-specific physical activity, and BMI among US adults: NHANES 2011-2014 cross-sectional data

Background

Physical activity is associated with depression. However, benefits of physical activity on depression may differ for specific domains of physical activity (i.e., leisure-time, work, and travel). Moreover, the relationship between physical activity and depression could also differ for people in different Body Mass Index (BMI) categories. This study investigated the relationship between domain-specific physical activity and BMI with depression, and the moderation effects of BMI on the relationship between domain physical activity and depression.

Methods

Complex survey data from the NHANES 2011-2014 was used (N=10,047). Depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Participants reported physical activity minutes in each domain using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Demographic characteristics were self-reported. Weight and height were objectively measured and used for calculating BMI. Survey procedures were used to account for complex survey design. As two survey cycles were used, sampling weights were re-calculated and used for analyses. Taylor series linearisation was chosen as a variance estimation method.

Results

Participants who engaged in ≥150 minutes/week of total moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (adjusted B = 0.83, 95% CI [0.50, 1.16]) and leisure-time MVPA (adjusted B = 0.84, 95% CI [0.57, 1.11]) experienced lower levels of depression compared to those engaging in <150 MVPA minutes/week. Work and travel-related physical activity were not associated with depression. Overweight (adjusted B = -0.40, 95% CI [-0.76, -0.04]) and underweight/normal weight participants (adjusted B = -0.60, 95%CI [-0.96, -0.25]) experienced less depressive symptoms compared to obese participants. BMI did not moderate the relationship between domain-specific physical activity and depression.

Conclusions

Interventions that focus on leisure-time physical activity appear to be best suited to improve depression, however, this needs to be confirmed in purposefully designed intervention studies. Future studies may also examine ways to improve the effectiveness of work and travel physical activity for reducing depression.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-14037-4.

Thirty years of research on physical activity, mental health, and wellbeing: A scientometric analysis of hotspots and trends

The sheer volume of research publications on physical activity, mental health, and wellbeing is overwhelming. The aim of this study was to perform a broad-ranging scientometric analysis to evaluate key themes and trends over the past decades, informing future lines of research. We searched the Web of Science Core Collection from inception until December 7, 2021, using the appropriate search terms such as "physical activity" or "mental health," with no limitation of language or time. Eligible studies were articles, reviews, editorial material, and proceeding papers. We retrieved 55,353 documents published between 1905 and 2021. The annual scientific production is exponential with a mean annual growth rate of 6.8% since 1989. The 1988-2021 co-cited reference network identified 50 distinct clusters that presented significant modularity and silhouette scores indicating highly credible clusters (Q = 0.848, S = 0.939). This network identified 6 major research trends on physical activity, namely cardiovascular diseases, somatic disorders, cognitive decline/dementia, mental illness, athletes' performance, related health issues, and eating disorders, and the COVID-19 pandemic. A focus on the latest research trends found that greenness/urbanicity (2014), concussion/chronic traumatic encephalopathy (2015), and COVID-19 (2019) were the most active clusters of research. The USA research network was the most central, and the Chinese research network, although important in size, was relatively isolated. Our results strengthen and expand the central role of physical activity in public health, calling for the systematic involvement of physical activity professionals as stakeholders in public health decision-making process.

Association Between Natural/Built Campus Environment and Depression Among Chinese Undergraduates: Multiscale Evidence for the Moderating Role of Socioeconomic Factors After Controlling for Residential Self-Selection

Aim

Evidence on the association between natural-built environments and depression is largely derived from the general population and prone to residential self-selection bias because of the nature of cross-sectional research design. Despite emerging adulthood, which includes the university years, is a critical stage for forming life-long health habits, studies on this topic focusing on undergraduate students are limited. The current study aims to illustrate the underlying mechanisms for how the campus-based environments affect depression in undergraduate students.

Methods

Based on a nationwide representative analytical sample of 22,009 Chinese undergraduates in 2018, we examined participants' reports of depression and campus-centered natural/built environments within multiple buffer sizes including 0.5, 1.0, and 2.5 km. After disentangling residential self-selection, we explored the moderating role of the socioeconomic attributes of undergraduates. The depression outcome was measured by the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9). Indicators of exposure to green and blue space, transportation infrastructure, and food environments were objectively assessed using different circular buffers around each campus address.

Results

Modeling results indicated that campus neighborhoods with more scattered trees (0.5 km), water (0.5, 1.0, and 2.5 km), and street intersections (1.0 and 2.5 km) were protective against depression. In contrast, those living near denser distributions of outlets serving take-away sweets and fast food (0.5, 1.0, and 2.5 km) were susceptible to depression. These associations were modified by undergraduates' socioeconomic attributes (e.g., grade, Hukou status, and ethnicity) and varied according to geographical scales and exposure metrics.

Conclusion

To deliver effective environmental interventions to curb the prevalence of depression among undergraduate students, further planning policies should focus on the careful conception of the campus-based environment, especially regarding different spatial scales.

The relationship between domain-specific physical activity and depressive symptoms in Korean adults: Analysis of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to investigate the associations of domain-specific physical activity (PA) with the prevalence of depressive symptoms.

METHODS

We analyzed data from 11,679 (5,056 men and 6,623 women) participants aged ³19 years in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016 and 2018 waves). Depressive symptoms were measured using the Korean version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), with a cut-off score for depression of 11. The participants were first categorized by sex, and then by their PA level in different PA domains into three different groups. We examined the correlations between domain-specific PA and depressive symptoms using logistic regression analysis after controlling for confounders.

RESULTS

Total amount of PA was not associated with depressive symptoms. However, in both sexes, those high in leisure and transport PA had lower levels of depressive symptoms compared with those with no leisure and transport PA (p for trend <0.001). After adjusting for covariates, those high in work PA showed a significantly higher likelihood of having depressive symptoms both in male (OR= 2.74, 95% CI 1.56-4.82) and female participants (OR= 2.84, 95% CI 1.70-4.49), compared to those with no work PA.

LIMITATION

Cross-sectional nature of the data prevents causal associations.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the total amount of PA participation was not associated with depressive symptoms, domain-specific PAs were differently associated with depressive symptoms. Specifically, higher amount of work PA was significantly associated with higher prevalence of depressive symptoms; this topic deserves further attention and future investigation.

Cross-sectional and prospective associations of lifestyle risk behaviors clustering with elevated depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older adults

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the cross-sectional and prospective associations of lifestyle risk behaviors clustering with elevated depressive symptoms and to explore synergic prospective associations of different combinations of lifestyle risk behaviors with subsequent depressive symptoms.

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective cohort study. Data on 31,190 middle-aged and older adults from waves 4 (2011) and 6 (2015) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) were used.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Elevated depressive symptoms were estimated using the EURO-D 12-item scale. Lifestyle risk behaviors composing the cluster included physical inactivity, inadequate consumption of fruit and/or vegetables, binge drinking, and tobacco smoking. Gender, age group, education, place of residence, country, number of chronic diseases and body mass index were considered as confounders.

RESULTS

With the exception of binge drinking, all lifestyle risk behaviors were associated with higher odds of elevated depressive symptoms in cross-sectional and prospective analyses. The clustering of unhealthy lifestyle behaviors was cross-sectionally associated with elevated depressive symptoms and the clustering of two [odds ratio [OR]: 1.39; 95%CI: 1.28-1.51) and three or four (OR: 1.60; 95%CI: 1.38-1.85) were prospectively associated with elevated depressive symptoms. There were no interactions between the pairs of behaviors in the association with later elevated depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings support the need for interventions integrating multiple health behaviors to prevent elevated depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older adults.