Prospective Association between Domain-Specific Physical Activity and Risk of Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults

Abstract

Physical activity has been recommended to general population for preventing depressive symptoms. However, only few prospective studies focused on the association between the domain-specific physical activity levels and risk of depressive symptoms. PURPOSE: To investigate the prospective association between domain-specific physical activity and depressive symptoms among Japanese older people. METHODS: In this study, participants comprised 365 (169 men) community-dwelling older individuals aged ≥70 years, who were living in the Tsurugaya area of Sendai, Japan. These participants did not have depressive symptoms at baseline. Depressive state was evaluated by a short version of Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), and a GDS-15 score ≥6 was defined as depressive symptoms. Furthermore, a valid questionnaire was used to assess domain-specific physical activity. Leisure-time physical activity levels by estimating metabolic equivalents (METs) hours/day based on frequency and duration of walking, brisk walking, moderate exercise, and strenuous exercise. METs of physical activity in other domains (occupational, domestic, commuting) were calculated based on the numbers of hours spent at different levels of intensity (sitting, standing, walking, strenuous work). Associations between physical activity and depressive symptoms were examined by multiple regression analysis. Covariates included sex, age, body mass index, educational levels, living status, smoking status, drinking status, sleep duration, and cognitive function. Data were expressed as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: Multivariate analysis showed that tertiles of leisure-time physical activity were inversely associated with depressive symptoms during 10-years follow-up period (OR [95% CI]: T2, 0.97 [0.54−1.76]; T3, 0.42 [0.21−0.85]; P for trend = 0.019). Similarly, high levels of physical activity in other domains were also associated with decreased incidence of depressive symptoms (OR [95% CI]: T2, 0.73 [0.40−1.36]; T3, 0.52 [0.27−0.99]; P for trend = 0.045). CONCLUSION: This long-term prospective study demonstrated that the both leisure-time and non-leisure-time (occupational, domestic, commuting) physical activity may be preventive factors for depressive symptoms in older adults.