Sex differences in type of exercise associated with depression in South Korean adults

Abstract

Exercise has been considered as treatment and a preventive modality to alleviate depressive symptoms, but sex differences regarding specific types of exercise in association with depression have not been clearly elucidated. Here, we investigated sex differences in the association between exercise type and depression in Korean adults. Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) were used for this study. A total of 13,914 participants who had filled in a Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) were included. The subjects’ exercise status had been evaluated with questions on strength exercise and walking, and answers were analysed in the current study using multivariate logistic regression. Male participants who reported having done strength exercise more than once in a week were less likely to be depressed after adjusting for covariates assumed to affect depression levels [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 0.60, 95% CI 0.40–0.92]. In women, walking more than once during the previous week was associated with lower depression levels after covariate adjustments (adjusted OR 0.54, CI 0.34–0.87). This study identifies the relationship between exercise and the presence of depressive symptoms and finds sex differences in the types of exercise that correlate with depression in Korean adults.

Association between Physical Exercise and Glycated Hemoglobin Levels in Korean Patients Diagnosed with Diabetes

“…The data used in this study were obtained from the 2015–2019 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), a cross-sectional and nationwide survey conducted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The KNHANES was designed to evaluate the health status, health behavior, and nutritional status of the South Korean population to provide basic data for developing nationwide health policies [ 16 , 17 ].…”

“…Informed consent was obtained from all respondents in advance and all data analyzed in this study were fully anonymized. As the KNHANES complies with the Declaration of Helsinki and provides publicly accessible data, further ethical approval for the use of these data was not required [ 17 , 18 ].…”

Association between tinnitus and depressive symptoms in the South Korean population

“…Each question is rated as 0 (“not at all”), 1 (“for many days”), 2 (“for more than a week”), and 3 (“almost daily”), resulting in a maximum score of 27 points [ 18 ]. It has been proven to be a reliable tool not only for screening individuals with depression but also for evaluating the severity of the illness [ 19 ]. Individuals were considered to show depressive symptoms if they scored > 10 points on this questionnaire [ 20 ].…”

Specific Types of Physical Exercises, Dietary Preferences, and Obesity Patterns With the Incidence of Hypertension: A 26-years Cohort Study

“…A previous study reported that men were more likely to develop hypertension than women among young adults [43,44]. Furthermore, it was documented that sex affected motivation toward physical exercise and modified the association of physical exercises with health outcomes [45,46]. On the other hand, compared to men, women were more likely to consume vegetables but less likely to consume soft drinks [47].…”