Abstract 429: Exercise and Heart Healthy Lifestyle Program also Improve Mental Health

Abstract

Background: Exercise conveys benefits to cardiovascular and mental health. A program that uses exercise is analyzed. Methods: Retrospective data from 5221 participants (n=3680, 70% women) that finished the educational program was used, which taught heart healthy lifestyle changes such exercise, plant-based nutrition, stress management among many interventions. The program meet once a week for 8-week, emphasis is given to reach the goal of exercising at least 4 times a week for at least 30 minutes (ideally 60 minutes). Participants completed at baseline, and at the end, the Depression and Anxiety Assessment Test (DAAT), a 75-item questionnaire assessing depression, anxiety, emotional intelligence (EQ), demographic data, and exercise habits. Results: At baseline depression was 12 (moderate level) SD 7.59, anxiety of 7 (mild) SD 4.6, EQ 100 SD 15.1 not all the participants were depressed. At baseline 64.8% (n=3385) acknowledged that they didn't do exercise more than 4 times a week on a regular basis. By the end of the 8-weeks, participants mean depression was 6 (moderate) SD 6, anxiety of 3 (none) SD 3.6, EQ 109 SD 14.3 and 46% (n=2402) of them did not exercise more than 4 times a week. There was a significant difference in the depression scores t(5220)=66.44, p<.001 and anxiety scores t(5220)=62.07, p<.001. Table 1 highlights more results. The depression was classified according to DSM-5 into 4 categories as none (0-6), mild (7-10), moderate (11-19) or severe (20 or more). Conclusion: Four or more sessions of physical exercise a week was related to improvement in overall health including depression, anxiety and EQ level, even before the program started.