Associations of Mid- and Late-Life Physical Activities With New-Onset Depression and Anxiety Among Older Adults

Authors

• Janina Krell-Roesch, Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany (Krell-Roesch, Barisch-Fritz, Krafft, Woll); Departments of Quantitative Health Sciences (Krell-Roesch, Syrjanen, Kremers, Vassilaki), Psychiatry and Psychology (Fields), and Neurology (Petersen), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix (Johnson, Geda).
• Jeremy A. Syrjanen, Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany (Krell-Roesch, Barisch-Fritz, Krafft, Woll); Departments of Quantitative Health Sciences (Krell-Roesch, Syrjanen, Kremers, Vassilaki), Psychiatry and Psychology (Fields), and Neurology (Petersen), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix (Johnson, Geda).
• Walter K. Kremers, Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany (Krell-Roesch, Barisch-Fritz, Krafft, Woll); Departments of Quantitative Health Sciences (Krell-Roesch, Syrjanen, Kremers, Vassilaki), Psychiatry and Psychology (Fields), and Neurology (Petersen), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix (Johnson, Geda).
• Bettina Barisch-Fritz, Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany (Krell-Roesch, Barisch-Fritz, Krafft, Woll); Departments of Quantitative Health Sciences (Krell-Roesch, Syrjanen, Kremers, Vassilaki), Psychiatry and Psychology (Fields), and Neurology (Petersen), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix (Johnson, Geda).
• Jelena Krafft, Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany (Krell-Roesch, Barisch-Fritz, Krafft, Woll); Departments of Quantitative Health Sciences (Krell-Roesch, Syrjanen, Kremers, Vassilaki), Psychiatry and Psychology (Fields), and Neurology (Petersen), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix (Johnson, Geda).
• DeJarra Johnson, Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany (Krell-Roesch, Barisch-Fritz, Krafft, Woll); Departments of Quantitative Health Sciences (Krell-Roesch, Syrjanen, Kremers, Vassilaki), Psychiatry and Psychology (Fields), and Neurology (Petersen), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix (Johnson, Geda).
• Julie A. Fields, Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany (Krell-Roesch, Barisch-Fritz, Krafft, Woll); Departments of Quantitative Health Sciences (Krell-Roesch, Syrjanen, Kremers, Vassilaki), Psychiatry and Psychology (Fields), and Neurology (Petersen), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix (Johnson, Geda).
• Ronald C. Petersen, Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany (Krell-Roesch, Barisch-Fritz, Krafft, Woll); Departments of Quantitative Health Sciences (Krell-Roesch, Syrjanen, Kremers, Vassilaki), Psychiatry and Psychology (Fields), and Neurology (Petersen), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix (Johnson, Geda).
• Alexander Woll, Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany (Krell-Roesch, Barisch-Fritz, Krafft, Woll); Departments of Quantitative Health Sciences (Krell-Roesch, Syrjanen, Kremers, Vassilaki), Psychiatry and Psychology (Fields), and Neurology (Petersen), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix (Johnson, Geda).
• Maria Vassilaki, Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany (Krell-Roesch, Barisch-Fritz, Krafft, Woll); Departments of Quantitative Health Sciences (Krell-Roesch, Syrjanen, Kremers, Vassilaki), Psychiatry and Psychology (Fields), and Neurology (Petersen), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix (Johnson, Geda).
• Yonas E. Geda, Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany (Krell-Roesch, Barisch-Fritz, Krafft, Woll); Departments of Quantitative Health Sciences (Krell-Roesch, Syrjanen, Kremers, Vassilaki), Psychiatry and Psychology (Fields), and Neurology (Petersen), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix (Johnson, Geda).

Document Type

Article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The authors of this prospective cohort study sought to examine associations between mid- and late-life physical activities and incident clinical depression and anxiety among community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: The sample included 2,630 adults to examine the outcome of clinical depression (median follow-up length=5.4 years) and 2,444 to examine clinical anxiety (median follow-up length=5.6 years). Participants were ages ≥70 years, were enrolled in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, and did not have dementia or the respective neuropsychiatric symptoms at baseline. Mid- and late-life physical activities were assessed as predictors with a validated questionnaire, and physical activity composite scores were calculated. Outcomes of interest were new onset of clinical depression and anxiety, measured with the Beck Depression Inventory (score >13) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (score >7), respectively. The authors used Cox proportional hazard models, adjusted for age (timescale), sex, education, apolipoprotein E ε4 genotype status, and comorbid medical conditions. RESULTS: Higher overall physical activity in late life was associated with a decreased risk for incident clinical depression (hazard ratio [HR]=0.85, 95% CI=0.74-0.98, p=0.025). Higher late-life overall physical activity (HR=0.79, 95% CI=0.71-0.89, p<0.001) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA; HR=0.86, 95% CI=0.77-0.95, p=0.003) were associated with a decreased risk for incident clinical anxiety. Higher midlife overall physical activity (HR=1.16, 95% CI=1.05-1.28, p=0.003) and MVPA (HR=1.12, 95% CI=1.02-1.23, p=0.019) were associated with an increased risk for new-onset clinical anxiety but not depression. CONCLUSIONS: Engagement in late-life physical activity was associated with reduced risk for new-onset depression and anxiety among community-dwelling older adults without dementia.

Publication Date

4-28-2025

Publication Title

The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences

E-ISSN

1545-7222

First Page

appineuropsych20240255

PubMed ID

40289590

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1176/appi.neuropsych.20240255

Recommended Citation

Krell-Roesch, Janina; Syrjanen, Jeremy A.; Kremers, Walter K.; Barisch-Fritz, Bettina; Krafft, Jelena; Johnson, DeJarra; Fields, Julie A.; Petersen, Ronald C.; Woll, Alexander; Vassilaki, Maria; and Geda, Yonas E., "Associations of Mid- and Late-Life Physical Activities With New-Onset Depression and Anxiety Among Older Adults" (2025). Neurology. 2005.
https://scholar.barrowneuro.org/neurology/2005