Is COVID-19 induced reductions in the level of physical activity associated with increased depressive symptoms in patients with hypertension?

BACKGROUND: Studies have reported that the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak led to reduced levels of physical activity, but this has been rarely studied in patients with hypertension. This study investigated the association between depressive symptoms and changes in physical activity of patients with hypertension during the COVID-19 outbreak. METHODS: Data were from the Korea Community Health Survey (KCHS), conducted between August to November 2020. The KCHS is a nationwide cross-sectional survey that evaluates information on various sociodemographic, economic, and health related variables. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Physical activity was measured using a questionnaire inquiring whether participants experienced any changes in physical activity after the pandemic. The association between depressive symptoms and changes in physical activity level were analyzed using a multivariable logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Out of 55,203 patients, 39.6% responded that they had experienced lower levels of physical activity due to the pandemic and showed increased likelihoods of depressive symptoms (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.14–1.54) than individuals who responded that they had performed similar levels of physical activity. This tendency was stronger in patients that did not receive treatment for hypertension (OR 2.07, 95% CI 1.02–4.23) than those who did receive treatment with marginal significance (p-value of interaction term: 0.1241). CONCLUSIONS: Decreased levels of physical activity due to the outbreak was experienced by a noticeable proportion of patients with hypertension and was associated with increased likelihoods of depressive symptoms.