Increased Odds for Depression and Antidepressant Use in the Inactive Spanish Population.

Carmen Galán-Arroyo,Jorge Rojo-Ramos,Jose Carmelo Adsuar,Miguel A Hernández-Mocholí,Eugenio Merellano-Navarro,Ángel Denche-Zamorano,Damián Pereira-Payo,Jorge Pérez-Gómez

doi:10.3390/ijerph19052829

Abstract

Introduction: Depression is a disabling mental illness and therefore also a serious public health problem. It affects 5% of the adult population in the world and is the leading cause of disability, with an annual cost of USD one trillion. In Spain, its prevalence is 13.4%, costing EUR 6000 million a year. Physical inactivity has been linked to an increase in depressive symptoms, with physical activity associated with an improvement in health-related quality of life. Objective: To calculate the odds ratio (OR) and relative risk (RR) of suffering from depression and taking antidepressants in the inactive Spanish population compared to groups with a higher level of physical activity. Method: 17,141 individuals aged 18–69 years residing in Spain and interviewed in the 2017 Spanish National Health Survey were included in this cross-sectional investigation. Results: Dependence relationships were found between the level of physical activity and the prevalence of depression and taking antidepressants (p < 0.001). We found elevated ORs and RRs for depression and antidepressant use in inactive people compared to those with a high/very high level of physical activity (Depression: OR: 4.32. CI95%: 3.35–5.57. RR: 1.59. 95% CI: 1.51–1.68; Antidepressants: OR: 4.95. CI95%: 3.59–6.82. RR: 1.61. CI95%: 1.52–1.71). Conclusions: Belonging to an inactive population group increases the risk of suffering from depression and of taking antidepressants.

Highlights

Depression is a disabling mental illness and a serious public health problem
The ENSE is a survey elaborated every 5 years by the MSCBS in collaboration with the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE), which collects information on the health status of the population residing in Spain over 15 years of age
Neither were dependency relationships found between sex and age groups (p = 0.242): the age groups between 35–49 and 50–64 years were those with the highest representation in both sexes (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Depression is a disabling mental illness and a serious public health problem It affects 5% of the adult population in the world and is the leading cause of disability, with an annual cost of USD one trillion. According to the WHO, 322 million people in the world suffer from depression [1] This mental illness presents with a disability that affects different areas of life and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality [2,3]. Productivity losses due to work and premature sick leave represent 67% of the total cost of depression in Spain (White Paper on Depression and Suicide 2018) It is at minimum a significant public health problem, if not a social and economic problem [5]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion