Accelerometer-Derived Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and the Risk of Depression and Anxiety in Middle-aged and Older Adults: A Prospective Cohort Study of 71,556 UK Biobank Participants

Objectives: To investigate the associations between accelerometer-measured physical activity and sedentary behavior with depression and anxiety.

Methods: We used accelerometer data from the UK biobank. Time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was classified into four categories: very-low (0-74.9 min/week), low (75-149.9 min/week), moderate (150-299.9 min/week), and high (≥300 min/week). Associations were examined using Cox proportional hazard regression models. Restricted cubic splines were used to evaluate dose-response associations.

Results: A total of 71556 adults (mean [SD] age, 62.11 [7.83] years; 54.5% were female) were included. When stratified by MVPA, 10562 participants were in the very-low group (14.8%), 11578 were in the low group (16.2%), 20700 were in the moderate group (28.9%), and 28716 were in the high group (40.1%). Both MVPA and total physical activity showed nonlinear associations with the risk of depression and anxiety. Compared with very-low level MVPA, moderate MVPA might reduce the risk of depression (HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.63-0.79) and anxiety (HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.71-0.90). High MVPA was associated with a 30% lower risk of depression (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.62-0.78) and anxiety (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.62-0.79). For sedentary behavior, quartile 4 (≥10.60 h/d) was associated with a 19% higher risk of depression (HR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.05-1.35) compared to quartile 1 (<8.21 h/d).

Conclusion: The WHO guideline of 150-300 min/week of MVPA may reduce the risk of depression by 29% and anxiety by 20% compared to less than 75 min/week. Prolonged sedentary behavior was associated with a higher risk of depression.