The Association Between Midlife Physical Activity and Depressive Symptoms in Late Life: Age Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik Study
Authors
Chang, MilanSnaedal, Jon
Einarsson, Bjorn
Bjornsson, Sigurbjorn
Saczynski, Jane S.
Aspelund, Thor
Garcia, Melissa
Gudnason, Vilmundur
Harris, Tamara B.
Launer, Lenore J.
Jonsson, Palmi V.
UMass Chan Affiliations
Meyers Primary Care InstituteDepartment of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine
Document Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2015-11-02Keywords
AgingCognitive function.
Depressive symptomatology
Mid-life physical activity
Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms
Geriatrics
Mental Disorders
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
BACKGROUND: There is little evidence on the long-term association between physical activity (PA) and depressive symptoms in old age. We examined the association of midlife PA and depressive symptoms in late life. METHODS: A large community-based population residing in Reykjavik, Iceland, participated in a longitudinal study with an average of 25 years of follow up. Midlife PA was categorized as active and inactive groups (n = 4,140, Active = 1,292, Inactive = 2,848, mean age 52+/-7 years). The main outcome had six or higher depressive symptoms assessed by the 15-item Geriatric Depression scale. Participants who had a history of depression (n = 226), and were diagnosed with dementia (n = 393), and had incomplete cognitive data (n = 595) and incomplete analytical data (n = 422) were excluded. Level of weekly PA was ascertained by a questionnaire at midlife. Depressive symptoms were assessed on average 25 (+/-4) years later. RESULTS: After controlling for demographic and health-related risk factors, those who were active at midlife were less likely to have high level of depressive symptomatology (6 or higher Geriatric Depression scale scores, odds ratio = 0.58, 95% confidence interval: 0.41-0.83, p < .005) compared with those who were inactive in midlife. After full adjustment of three domains of late-life cognitive function the results remained significant (odds ratio = 0.61, 95% confidence interval: 0.43-0.86, p = .005). CONCLUSION: Our study shows that midlife PA is associated with lower depressive symptoms 25 years later. Participating in regular PA in midlife may improve mental health in late life.Source
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2015 Nov 2. pii: glv196. Link to article on publisher's siteDOI
10.1093/gerona/glv196Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/30595PubMed ID
26525090Related Resources
Link to Article in PubMedae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1093/gerona/glv196