The Relationship between the Frequency and Duration of Physical Activity and Depression in Older Adults with Multiple Chronic Diseases

Research has demonstrated that older adults with multiple chronic diseases (CD) are particularly vulnerable to depression. Meeting current recommendations for physical activity (PA) may help ameliorate the impact of depression on this population. Nonetheless, the impact of frequency versus duration of PA on depression in older adults remains to be explored. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to determine the combined effect of PA and multiple CD on depression and the combined effect of the frequency, duration, and multiple CD on depression in older adults. Methods: The present study utilized data from the 2017 and 2020 Living Profiles of Older People Surveys. Data from a total of 19,907 older adults (10,042 older adults from 2017 and 9865 older adults from 2020) were included in the present study. Depression was assessed using the Korean version of the Short Form of Geriatric Depression Scale (K-SGDS) and CD included cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases, thyroid syndromes, orthopedic complications, and diabetes. Participants who participated in PA ≥ 150 min/week were categorized as the high PA group, and those who participated in PA < 150 min/week were categorized as the low PA group. Furthermore, the frequency of PA (FRE) was divided into high FRE (≥5 times/week) and low FRE (<5 times/week), and duration (DUR) was divided into DUR30 (≥30 min/bout) and DUR0 (<30 min/bout). Results: The high PA group exhibited a lower risk of depression relative to the low PA group (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the risk of depression was consistently lower at DUR30 than DUR0 regardless of FRE in all CD categories and this result was maintained after adjusting for age, gender, BMI, height, weight, income, education levels, smoking status, and cognitive function. Conclusion: These results interestingly demonstrated that it is important for older adults to participate in a longer duration of PA to impact and prevent depression symptoms regardless of FRE.