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The association between physical activity and depression among individuals residing in Brazil

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Abstract

Purpose

There is very limited literature investigating the association between physical activity (PA) and depression in South American countries such as Brazil. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the prevalence of depression and its association with PA in a very large, representative sample of young adults (ages 18–39 years) (YA), middle-aged adults (ages 40–59 years) (MAA) and older adults (ages ≥ 60 years) (OA) residing in Brazil.

Methods

The sample for this cross-sectional study was based on the Brazilian National Health Survey conducted in 2013. The Personal Health Questionnaire depression scale (PHQ-8) was applied to measure current (past 2 weeks) depression as the outcome of interest, and the exposure was self-reported PA for leisure. Multivariable weighted logistic regression models were conducted to investigate the association between PA and depression while adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and number of health comorbidities among YA, MAA and OA.

Results

The final study sample size was 59,399 (33,480 females; 25,919 males). After adjusting for the covariates of interest, the lack of PA for leisure was associated with a significant increase in depression only among males (YA: OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.02–2.06; MAA: OR 2.38, 95% CI 1.40–4.03; OA: OR 5.35, 95% CI 2.14–13.37). There was no significant association between PA for leisure and depression among females of all age groups.

Conclusions

Although PA for leisure is not associated with depression among Brazilian females, the obtained results suggest that this association is significant among Brazilian males, who may be able to benefit from PA for leisure to reduce their symptoms of depression.

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Acknowledgements

Research reported in this publication was supported by an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Grant no. P20GM103442.

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Author notes

  1. Gisele Dias de Oliveira and S. Cristina Oancea contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Population Health, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, 1301 North Columbia Road, Grand Forks, ND, 58202-9037, USA

    Gisele Dias de Oliveira & S. Cristina Oancea

  2. Health Sciences Post Graduate Program, School of Medicine, Center of Health Sciences, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas, Rodovia Dom Pedro I, Km 136, s/n, Parque das Universidades, Campinas, São Paulo, CEP: 13086-900, Brazil

    Luciana B. Nucci

  3. Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, 1301 North Columbia Road, Grand Forks, ND, 58202-9037, USA

    Nancy Vogeltanz-Holm

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  1. Gisele Dias de Oliveira
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  2. S. Cristina Oancea
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  3. Luciana B. Nucci
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Correspondence to S. Cristina Oancea.

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All human studies have been approved by the appropriate ethics committee and have therefore been performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. All persons gave their informed consent prior to their inclusion in the study.

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de Oliveira, G.D., Oancea, S.C., Nucci, L.B. et al. The association between physical activity and depression among individuals residing in Brazil. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 53, 373–383 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-017-1441-6

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