Brief report
Physical Activity and Depression in Young Adults

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2008.09.036Get rights and content

Background

Epidemiologic research suggests that physical activity is associated with decreased prevalence of depression. However, the relationship between physical activity accumulated in various domains and depression remains unclear. Further, previous population-based studies have predominantly utilized self-reported measures of physical activity and depression symptom subscales. Associations between physical activity in various domains (leisure, work, active commuting, yard/household) and depression were examined using both subjective and objective measures of physical activity and a diagnostic measure of depression.

Methods

Analyses (conducted in 2007) included data from 1995 young adults participating in a national study (2004–2006). Physical activity was measured by self-report (International Physical Activity Questionnaire) and objectively as pedometer steps/day. Depression (DSM-IV 12-month diagnosis of major depression or dysthymic disorder) was assessed using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview.

Results

For women, moderate levels of ambulatory activity (≥7500 steps/day) were associated with ∼50% lower prevalence of depression compared with being sedentary (<5000 steps/day) (p trend=0.005). Relatively low durations of leisure physical activity (≥1.25 hours/week) were associated with ∼45% lower prevalence compared with the sedentary group (0 hours/week) (p trend=0.003). In contrast, high durations of work physical activity (≥10 hours/week) were associated with an approximate twofold higher prevalence of depression compared with being sedentary (0 hours/week) (p trend=0.005). No significant associations were observed for steps/day in men or for other types of self-reported activity including total physical activity in both men and women.

Conclusions

These findings indicate that the context in which physical activity is assessed and the measurement methods utilized are important considerations when investigating associations between physical activity and depression.

Introduction

Although the extant evidence of the beneficial effects of physical activity on depression appears convincing,1, 2 findings are affected by methodologic limitations, and gaps in the research literature remain.2 For example, few studies have examined how physical activity accumulated in various domains relates to depression,2 and to our knowledge, none have utilized an objective measure of physical activity. The use of symptom subscales, rather than diagnostic survey instruments, to measure depression also makes it difficult to estimate the clinical and public health relevance of the associations found.

The present study aimed to evaluate the cross-sectional association between self-reported and objectively measured physical activity, and depression in young adults. Methodologic constraints of previous cross-sectional studies were overcome by using pedometers to provide a more accurate objective measure of ambulatory activity (steps/day); estimating the duration (hours/week) of physical activity in different domains (leisure, work, active commuting, yard/household); and using the DSM-IV3 diagnostic criteria to diagnose depression.

Section snippets

Participants

Data were collected in 2004–2006 from adults (aged 26–36 years) participating in the Childhood Determinants of Adult Health study, a 20-year follow-up study of 8498 children.4 Details of the 1985 sampling strategies are described elsewhere.5 Of the original participants, 6840 (80.5%) were located, 5170 enrolled, and 2410 subsequently attended a study clinic. Analyses (conducted in 2007) were restricted to 1995 nonpregnant clinic attendees who completed the self-reported physical activity and

Results

Overall, 1995 participants (950 men, 1045 women) completed both the IPAQ and the CIDI-Auto. Of these, 1681 (794 men, 887 women) provided valid pedometer data. Table 1 presents the sociodemographic and health characteristics of the analysis sample.

Prevalence of depression was 5.9% (n=56) for men and 11.8% (n=123) for women (p<0.001), and for the subsample who returned a pedometer diary, prevalence was 6.3% (n=50) for men and 11.2% (n=99) for women (p<0.001). Response levels for pedometer diaries

Discussion

A novel finding is that moderate levels of objectively measured ambulatory activity are associated with lower depression prevalence in young women. Findings are consistent with studies demonstrating an association between relatively low durations of self-reported leisure-time physical activity with better mental health14 and decreased depressive symptoms15 and are comparable to a national survey that found a decreased prevalence of DSM-IV major depression in those reporting regular physical

References (24)

  • J. Ware et al.

    A 12-item Short-Form Health Survey: construction of scales and preliminary tests of reliability and validity

    Med Care

    (1996)
  • C. Tudor-Locke et al.

    How many steps/day are enough? Preliminary pedometer indices for public health

    Sports Med

    (2004)
  • Cited by (121)

    • The relationship between domain-specific physical activity and depressive symptoms in Korean adults: Analysis of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

      2022, Journal of Affective Disorders
      Citation Excerpt :

      The general hypothesis is that people who are physically active have an enhanced mood, higher self-esteem, and confidence. Higher level of PA has been associated with lower risk of depression (Gianfredi et al., 2020), and people who participate in leisure PA (i.e., ≥1.25 h/week) showed a lower prevalence of depression (around 45%) compared with those with no PA (McKercher et al., 2009a). Meanwhile, people with frequent aerobic exercise (3–5 days/week) had 47% lower levels of depressive symptoms than people with less frequent aerobic exercise (Dunn et al., 2005); frequent aerobic exercises were also connected with higher levels of positive emotional wellbeing (Legrand and Heuze, 2007).

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text