112 Dose-response relationship between physical activity and psychological health outcomes

Abstract

Our aim was to explore the prospective associations between physical activity and psychological health in mid-age and older women who completed mail surveys for the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health. Health outcomes in study 1 were depressive symptoms and mental health in mid-age women. Health outcomes in study 2 were anxiety and depressive symptoms in older women. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine associations between activity reported at an early survey and symptoms reported at a later survey (three and five years later for the mid-age cohort; three years later for the older cohort). At follow-up, mean depressive symptoms scores decreased and mental health scores increased with increasing levels of activity in the mid-age women, and there were risk eductions for women active for 60-150 mins/week (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.66-0.85). Sedentary women who increased their activity by >60 mins/week had a reduced risk of developing poor mental health (OR 0.69, 95%CI 0.58-0.82). Compared with those who remained sedentary, older women who maintained a high activity level or who increased activity over three years had lower symptom scores (p 60mins/week had reduced risk compared with those who remained sedentary (p <0.001). These findings suggest that psychological health benefits can be derived from relatively low levels of activity and when sedentary women increase their activity by as little as one hour per week.