Physical exercise appears to have a significant and beneficial impact on depression in the elderly, according to new research published in the journal Brazilian Journal of Sports Medicine.
Depressive disorder is a serious health problem among the elderly. Depression consists of feelings of loneliness, helplessness, worthlessness, and sometimes leads to suicide. Research shows that traditional therapies, such as psychotherapy, are not as effective in treating depression among the elderly population due to the unique physiological and psychological characteristics of older people. Researcher Linyan Dang, from the Henan University of Finance in China, was interested in studying the effects of physical exercise on depression among the elderly population.
Dang recruited 145 men and 125 women over the age of 60 to respond to survey items from the Physical Exercise Scale and Brink’s Concise Depression Scale for the Elderly. The results of this study show that most of the participants had a positive attitude towards physical exercise. Approximately 25% of the participants were classified as having depression, of whom 6% had major depression.
The data shows a negative correlation between marital status and health status and depression, as those with poorer marital and health status were more depressed. Data analyzes showed that depression scores were lower among participants who had a more positive attitude toward exercise, exercised moderately intensely, exercised more frequently, and had a better post-exercise experience.
For example, older people who reported exercising 3 to 4 times a week were more depressed than those who exercised 5 to 7 times a week. Also, depression scores were lower for people who exercised with a partner compared to people alone. This study also shows that women were slightly more depressed than men.
Dang argues that physical exercise among the elderly cannot be ignored with regard to depression because physical exercise appears to relieve depressive symptoms more than other therapies. He also advocates that older people should maintain a positive attitude towards physical exercise and incorporate it into their daily routine. Including physical exercise in the daily routine may help prevent depression in the elderly, but more research is needed.
The study, “Physical exercises to alleviate the current state of depression“, was published on November 29, 2021.
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