Association of Self-Reported Depression Symptoms with Physical Activity Levels in Czechia

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Authors	NETO Geraldo A. Maranhao LATTARI Eduardo OLIVEIRA Bruno Ribeiro Ramalho BARTOŠKOVÁ Anna INFANTE-GARCIA Maria M. KUNZOVÁ Šárka STOKIN Gorazd B. GONZALEZ-RIVAS Juan P.
Year of publication	2022
Type	Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source	International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
MU Faculty or unit	Faculty of Science
Citation
Web	https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/14319
Doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192114319
Keywords	mental health; depression; physical activity; population health; adult; middle age
Description	Worldwide, depressive disorder is one of the leading determinants of disability-adjusted life years. Although there are benefits associated with a higher physical activity (PA) level, there is a lack of information related to this relationship, especially in countries such as Czechia, where modern approaches to mental health care only recently emerged. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between the level of depression and different PA levels following the World Health Organization (WHO) PA guidelines and according to specific symptoms that indicate depression. Multivariable-adjusted Poisson regression models were used to calculate the prevalence rate (PR) in a sample of 2123 participants (45.3% men, median 48 years). Compared to subjects with insufficient PA, moderate and high PA levels were inversely associated with continuous depression scores (PR = 0.85; 95% CI: 0.75-0.97; and PR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.70-0.92). Depressed mood and worthlessness were the symptoms associated with moderate and high PA. Tiredness, change in appetite, and concentration problems were related to high PA. The results suggest that reaching the minimum PA target according to the guidelines seems to be effective, and this could stimulate adherence. However, more specific improvements in symptomatology will require a subsequent gradual increase in PA levels.