Changes over Time in Physical Activity and Psychological Distress among Older Adults

Abstract

W La Revue canadienne de psychiatrie, vol 54, no 3, mars 2009 160 Objective: While previous research has established that regular involvement in physical activity (PA) is associated with better mental health in old age, the socio-cognitive factors that mediate the association have only been partially tested. We examined whether changes in PA are associated with changes in distress during a 6-year period, and whether this association is mediated by changes in global self-esteem, mastery, and physical health status. Method:A residualized regression technique was used to examine changes over time in a national longitudinal survey of adults aged 65 years and older (n = 1327).Results: There is a significant association between change in PA and change in distress. Separately, physical health status accounted for 30% of the explained variance of the longitudinal relation between PA and distress, while global self-esteem and mastery accounted for 39%. Combined, they accounted for 50% of the explained variance of PA on distress. Conclusion:These findings highlight the importance of psychosocial factors in the relation between PA and distress. Results suggest that PA interventions focused on improving mastery or self-worth, as well as physical fitness, may yield the greatest benefit in alleviating psychological distress.Can J Psychiatry. 2009;54(3):160-169. Clinical Implications· PA may play a protective role in distress among older adults. · Beyond physical health benefits, the positive impact of PA on distress may be through improved sense of self-worth and greater perceived mastery. · PA interventions that target perceptions of self-worth and perceived control may have the greatest impact on psychological distress in older adults living in the community. Limitations· Our measure of PA is based on recreational activities only and does not reflect other activities, such as vacuuming, raking leaves, and other household chores, which can be physically demanding. · We were only able to assess change during a single, 6-year interval. Further work with repeated measures for a longer duration are needed to confirm our results. · Other potential mediating factors, especially biological markers of stress, are excluded from surveys such as the National Population Health Survey.

Impact of Physical Activity on Psychological Distress: A Prospective Analysis of an Australian National Sample

“…6 The latter, however, focused only on older men and was of a cross-sectional nature. An additional interesting finding is that the dose---response relationship between MVPA and psychological distress was more pronounced at lower MVPA frequencies (none---3 weekly sessions) than at higher MVPA frequencies (4 weekly sessions---every day), which is in line with results from other longitudinal research 18,20 and from studies of the relationships between MVPA and overall mental health. 3 There are, nonetheless, caveats to our research.…”

Bipolar disorder and leisure-time physical activity: Results from a national survey of Canadians

“…Future work will need to explore PA behaviour in this population using similar probabilistic, population-based sampling, and also include objective measures of EE, such as those that can be derived using motion-sensing technology (e.g., accelerometers), to confirm the findings reported here. It may also be useful to move beyond physical outcomes (e.g., relative weight) to see if PA improves psychosocial outcomes such as quality of life, stress, feelings of selfworth and perceptions of personal control, and mood in persons with BD, as it has been shown to do in other clinical (Faulkner & Taylor, 2005) and non-clinical populations (e.g., Cairney, Faulkner, Veldhuizen, & Wade, 2009). …”

Physical (in)activity and depression in older people

“…To our knowledge, this is the first study describing correlates of physical activity in depressed people above the age of 60. Earlier studies investigated the association of physical activity and depressive symptoms in younger adults with and without depression, in the general population, or in healthy older subjects (Cairney et al, 2009;Benedetti et al, 2008). Other studies investigated the effect of a physical activity intervention on depression (symptoms) (Bridle et al, 2012;Rimer et al, 2012).…”