Optimal dose and pattern of physical activity to prevent diagnosed depression: prospective cohort study

Andersen, Lars Louis ; López-Bueno, Rubén ; Kandola, Aaron ; Núñez-Cortés, Rodrigo ; López-Bueno, Laura ; Calatayud, Joaquín

Resumen: Background:Little is known about the dose and pattern of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) to prevent depression. We aimed to assess the prospective association of dose and pattern of accelerometer-derived MVPA with the risk of diagnosed depression.
Methods: We included 74,715 adults aged 40–69 years from the UK Biobank cohort who were free of severe disease at baseline and participated in accelerometer measurements (mean age 55.2 years [SD 7.8]; 58% women). MVPA at baseline was derived through 1-week wrist-worn accelerometry. Diagnosed depression was defined by hospitalization with ICD-10 codes F32.0-F32.A. Restricted cubic splines and Cox regression determined the prospective association of dose and pattern of MVPA with the risk of incident depression.
Results:Over a median 7.9-year follow-up, there were 3,089 (4.1%) incident cases of depression. Higher doses of MVPA were curvilinearly associated with lower depression risk, with the largest minute-per-minute added benefits occurring between 5 (HR 0.99 [95% CI 0.96–0.99]) and 280 (HR 0.67 [95% CI 0.60–0.74]) minutes per week (reference: 0 MVPA minutes).
Conclusion: Regardless of pattern, higher doses of MVPA were associated with lower depression risk in a curvilinear manner, with the greatest incremental benefit per minute occurring during the first 4–5 h per week. Optimal benefits occurred around 15 h/week.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1017/S003329172400343X

Año: 2025

Publicado en: Psychological Medicine 55 (2025), [8 pp.]
ISSN: 0033-2917

Tipo y forma: Artículo (Versión definitiva)