An exploratory study of associations of physical activity with mental health and work engagement

Jantien Van Berkel,Karin I Proper,Allard J Van Der Beek,Annelies Van Dam,Cécile Rl Boot,Paulien M Bongers

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-558

Abstract

BackgroundPrevious studies have found moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) to be associated with a decreased risk of mental disorders. Although the focus in the field of psychology has shifted towards human strengths and optimal functioning, studies examining associations between MVPA and mental health in general (MH) and between MVPA and well-being are scarce. An indicator of work-related well-being is work engagement (WE). The aim of this study was to explore the associations between MVPA and MH, and between MVPA and WE.MethodsIn this study, a total of 257 employees from two research institutes, self-reported their MVPA, MH and level of WE. In addition, a randomly chosen subgroup (n=100) wore an Actigraph accelerometer for a 1-week period to measure their MVPA objectively. Crude and adjusted associations between MVPA and both WE and MH were analyzed using linear regression analyses.ResultsThere was no statistically significant association between self-reported MVPA and mental health, resulting from both the crude (b=0.058, 95% CI -0.118 - 0.235) and adjusted analyses (b=0.026; 95% CI -0.158- 0.210), nor between objectively measured MVPA and mental health for both crude and adjusted analyses (b=-0.144; 95% CI -1.315- 1.027; b=-0.199; 95% CI 1.417- 1.018 respectively). There was also no significant association between self-reported MVPA and work engagement (crude: b=0.005; 95% CI -0.005-0.016, adjusted: b= 0.002; 95% CI -0.010- 0.013), nor between objectively measured MVPA and work engagement (crude: b= 0.012; 95% CI -0.084- 0.060, adjusted: b=0.007; 95% CI -0.083-0.069).ConclusionsAlthough the beneficial effects of MVPA on the negative side of MH (i.e. mental disorders) have been established in previous studies, this study found no evidence for the beneficial effects of MVPA on positive side of MH (i.e. well-being). The possible difference in how the physical activity-mental health relationship works for negative and positive sides of MH should be considered in future studies.

Highlights

Previous studies have found moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) to be associated with a decreased risk of mental disorders
There was no statistically significant association between self-reported MVPA and mental health, resulting from both the crude (b=0.058, 95% CI −0.118 - 0.235) and adjusted analyses (b=0.026; 95% CI −0.158- 0.210), nor between objectively measured MVPA and mental health for both crude and adjusted analyses (b=−0.144; 95% CI −1.315- 1.027; b=−0.199; 95% CI 1.417- 1.018 respectively)
MVPA was found to reduce the risk for mental disorders in several previous studies, we found no evidence in this study for the aforementioned associations

Summary

Introduction

Previous studies have found moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) to be associated with a decreased risk of mental disorders. Mental disorders are the second most frequent cause of absenteeism from work in Europe, after musculoskeletal disorders [1,2]. Since WE can be equated to happiness at work, it has been hypothesized that evidence based strategies to improve happiness could be effective to improve WE [3]. To psychological strategies to improve happiness, stimulating physical activity is considered an effective strategy to improve happiness [9]. To date, the associations of physical activity and WE remain unexplored

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