Abstract
BackgroundAn inverse association between total leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and depression has been previously documented in the scientific literature. Our objective was to prospectively assess the association of LTPA with the risk of depression, focusing on several dimensions of LTPA (intensity, duration and type).MethodsThe SUN (Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra) project is a prospective cohort study formed by Spanish university graduates. A total of 15,488 adults (40.2% men, mean age 37 ± 12 years) initially free of depression were assessed. A report of a validated medical diagnosis of depression or the habitual use of antidepressants (any of both) were considered as incident cases of depression. LTPA was estimated through previously validated self-reported questionnaires. Participants were classified following Physical Activity recommendations from the World Health Organization, and according to the intensity, duration and type of LTPA. Cox proportional hazards regression models were run, adjusted for demographic, lifestyle, and dietary factors, to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HR) of depression and 95% confidence intervals (CI).ResultsDuring 163,059 person-years of follow-up we registered 870 incident cases of depression. Participants with higher total LTPA (METs-h/wk) and higher duration of LTPA (hours/wk) exhibited a lower risk of depression HR = 0.84 (95% CI: 0.72–0.99) and HR = 0.83 (0.70–0.99) respectively, whereas intensity of LTPA (MET) did not show any association with depression.ConclusionParticipants with higher LTPA had a lower risk of depression. The inverse association was stronger for total LPTA time than for its intensity. Higher duration of LTPA should be encouraged to prevent depression.
Highlights
An inverse association between total leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and depression has been previously documented in the scientific literature
During follow-up 870 incident cases of depression were identified over a total of 163,059 person-years
In this longitudinal study, we found that higher levels of total LTPA (MET-h/wk), were associated with a lower risk of depression, consistently with previous studies, that report that PA is related with better mental health outcomes [13]
Summary
An inverse association between total leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and depression has been previously documented in the scientific literature. Multiple factors have been implicated in depression genesis, among them, important potentially modifiable lifestyle risk factors such as poor dietary habits, low education, cigarette smoking, high body mass index, sedentary lifestyles and reduced level of physical activity [3, 4]. Depression shares similar etiologic mechanisms and risk factors with metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease (CVD) [5,6,7]. CVD and depression, considered the most frequent diseases worldwide [8] seem to be vulnerable to similar preventive approaches. The selection of lifestyle factors that can protect against the most prevalent diseases seems to be a highly efficient approach; this is apparently the case of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA)
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