Differences in Objectively Measured Daily Physical Activity Patterns Related to Depressive Symptoms in Community Dwelling Women - mPED Trial

Abstract

Background:Physical activity(PA) has been identified as an effective depression treatment.However, knowledge on how variation in day-to-day PA relates to depression is lacking. Purpose:The purposes of this cross-sectional analysis were to 1) compare overall objectively measured baseline daily steps and duration of moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) and 2) examine differences in steps and MVPA on days of the week between women with high and low depressive symptoms, enrolled in the mobile phone based physical activity education (mPED) trial.Methods:The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale was used to categorize low and high depressive symptom groups.We used linear mixed-effects models to examine the associations between steps and MVPA and depression-status both overall and by day of the week,adjusting for selected demographic variables and their interactions with day of the week.Results:275 women were included in the final analysis, of which 217 had low and 58 had high depressive symptoms. We found that day of the week modified the associations of depression with both daily steps and MVPA. Women with high depressive symptoms were characterized by reduced activity at the end of the week (Friday: 832 fewer steps, 95% CI:116 to 1548, p=0.023; 8.9 lower MVPA, 95% CI:2.2 to 15.5, p=0.009), whereas women with low depression showed an increase in physical activity.Conclusions:Day of the week might be an important target for personalization of physical activity interventions. Future work should evaluate potential causes of alterations in daily activity patterns in depression.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov#:NCTO1280812registered January 21, 2011