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).
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
First Page
appineuropsych20240255
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
