Abstract
Regular moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is associated with improved mental health, but the evidence for the effect of reducing sedentary behavior (SB) or increasing light PA (LPA) in older adults is lacking. Using isotemporal substitution (IS) models, the aim of this paper was to investigate the effect of substituting SB with LPA or MVPA on associations with mental health in older adults. Data from 1360 older adults (mean age 75.18years) in four countries were utilized. PA and SB was measured using ActiGraph wGT3X-BT+accelerometers worn for 7days. Self-rated mental health was measured using the Hospital and Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS). IS models estimated cross-sectional associations when 30minutes of one behavior was substituted with another. Models were adjusted for age, sex, marital status, and educational attainment. Substituting 30minutes of SB with LPA (β -.37; 95% CI -0.42, -0.32) or MVPA (β -.14; 95% CI -0.21, -0.07) and substituting LPA with MVPA (β -.11; 95% CI -0.18, -0.04) were associated with improvements in anxiety. However, substituting 30minutes of SB with LPA (β .55; 95% CI 0.49, 0.62) was associated with increased depression. Replacing 30minutes of SB with LPA or MVPA was associated with improved anxiety symptoms in older adults. Greater benefits were observed when shifting SB and LPA to MVPA.
Highlights
Regular moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is associated with improved mental health, but the evidence for the effect of reducing sedentary behavior (SB) or increasing light PA (LPA) in older adults is lacking
Replacing 30 minutes of SB with LPA or MVPA was associated with improved anxiety symptoms in older adults
For Hospital and Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) anxiety, in both single and partition models, higher SB, LPA, and MVPA levels were associated with lower scores on HADS anxiety scale which in this model indicates lower symptoms of anxiety (Table 2)
Summary
Regular moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is associated with improved mental health, but the evidence for the effect of reducing sedentary behavior (SB) or increasing light PA (LPA) in older adults is lacking. Regular physical activity is associated with a wide range of health benefits for older adults.[1,2] There is considerable previous evidence demonstrating an association between moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) and mental health, including reduced levels of anxiety and depression.[3,4] A systematic review of 12 prospective studies including 128,553 participants reported a significant positive association between SB and the risk of depression.[5] Evidence is accumulating that demonstrates an association between both sedentary behavior (SB) and light-intensity physical activity (LPA) with mental health,[6,7] though the evidence is inconsistent.[8] In addition, there is a lack of research on the relationship between physical activity and mental health in older adults.[1]. Previous studies of the association between health outcomes and SB have generally adjusted for minutes of MVPA of participants, without consideration LPA or of the how changes in MVPA impact on the time spent in other behaviors.[15]
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