This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Physical activity associated with a decreased risk for metabolic syndrome, depression
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Patients who participated in 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day experienced a lower risk for metabolic syndrome, depression and high homocysteine, especially women, according to results from a national study.
“Promotion of physical activity in the adult population, especially among women, who were found to be less moderately-to-vigorously-physically active than their male counterparts, may play an important role in reducing these deleterious conditions,” the researchers wrote.
Paul D. Loprinzi, PhD, assistant professor of exercise science at Bellarmine University, and Bradley J. Cardinal, PhD, professor of social psychology of physical activity at Oregon State University, conducted a study initially designed to find an understanding of the relationship between physical activity, depression, homocysteine and metabolic syndrome by examining their interrelationships at the same time, the researchers wrote.
The researchers used data for 1,146 men and women aged 20 to 85 years from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Measurements of depression status (five patients with severe depression, 13 with moderately severe depression, 42 with moderate depression and 156 with mild depression), biological and demographic variables and physical activity were factored into statistical analyses.
According to the researchers, the association between physical activity and the presence of the three comorbidities was higher among women with only depression (OR=0.74; 95% CI, 0.57-0.96); only metabolic syndrome (OR=0.77; 95% CI, 0.61-0.97); only high homocysteine (OR=1.08; 95% CI, 0.66-1.76); only metabolic syndrome and mild depression (OR=0.43; 95% CI, 0.32-0.58) or metabolic syndrome, mild depression and high homocysteine (OR=0.15; 95% CI, 0.05-0.44) vs. men.
Future studies should be conducted to examine the interrelationships of the study variables, the researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Collapse
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts