Study On The Correlation Between Physical Activity And Depression In The Elderl

Background and objective: Since China entered the aging era at the end of the 20 th century,it has shown the characteristics of a large elderly population and an accelerated aging process.The related health problems caused by aging have also become the top priority of today ’s social health problems.As the age increases,the physical performance of the elderly continues to decline,which will lead to a high risk of falls and secondary fractures,and even lose independence,increasing morbidity and mortality.In addition,depression is an unhealthy psychological state,which widely exists in the elderly.The prevalence of depression in the elderly population in China is high,but the awareness rate and medical treatment rate are low,which needs to be highly valued.The various systems of the human body are interrelated and interact with each other.Physical performance may be associated with depression.Therefore,how to promote the physical and mental health of the elderly and reduce the pressure of aging on society is an urgent social problem to be solved.The study aims to use objective physical activity tests to explore the relationship between physical performance and depression,so as to provide a theoretical basis for clinical rehabilitation intervention.Methods: This study was conducted in Bu town,Chongming District,Shanghai in2020,and a total of 1272 valid data of the elderly over 65 years old were collected(mean age: 72.1 ± 6.0 years old).All subjects signed the informed consent form after knowing the free physical examination project,and completed an objective physical examination and structured questionnaire survey.Objective physical examination included height,weight,blood pressure,grip strength,timed up and go test(TUGT)and four-meter walking speed test.The structured questionnaire included occupation,education,marital status,living status,smoking and drinking,physical activity level,cognitive function,nutritional status,depression status and fall history.The disease history and medication history of the subjects were collected by asking and consulting the disease history book.The data were analyzed and described by SPSS26.0.Logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between physical performance indicators and depression.One year later,we returned to the region to conduct follow-up investigation and research on the same population,and conducted the same physical examination items and questionnaire survey to investigate the incidence of depression among the elderly in the region.Logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between physical performance and new-onset depression.P < 0.05 represents a statistically significant difference between groups.Results: In the cross-sectional study,the prevalence of depression in the elderly population in the region was 14.2%.In the final logistic regression model,muscle strength was associated with depression after adjusting for potential confounding factors(males:P=0.042,OR=0.954,95%CI=0.890-0.986;females:P=0.035,OR=0.980,95%CI=0.939-0.992).Balance(P=0.010,OR=1.069,95%CI=1.016-1.125)and mobility(P=0.001,OR=0.164,95%CI=0.054-0.500)were associated with depression only in females.One year later,the incidence of depression in this population was 9.2%.In the final logistic regression model,we corrected all potential confounding factors and found that people with low muscle strength were more likely to suffer from depression(males:P=0.011,OR=0.913,95%CI=0.852-0.979;females:P=0.013,OR=0.914,95%CI=0.851-0.982);females with poor balance(P=0.014,OR=1.099,95%CI=1.019-1.185)and mobility(P=0.002,OR=0.090,95%CI=0.019-0.420)were more likely to suffer from depression.Conclusions: The prevalence of depression was 14.2% among the elderly population in Bu Town,Chongming District,Shanghai.Physical performance(muscle strength,balance,mobility)was significantly associated with depression.The elderly with low physical performance have a higher risk of depression,but there may be gender differences in this relationship.This suggests that we can identify the potential risk of depression in the elderly through these objective physical performance tests in the early stage.In clinical practice,we can also start from these modifiable risk factors to improve the physical activity ability(muscle strength,balance ability,mobility)of the elderly,and better promote the coordinated development of physical and mental health,which provides a theoretical basis for clinical rehabilitation intervention.