Association Of Leisure Physical Activity And Resistance Exercise With Prevalence Of Depression In Korean Adults

BACKGROUND: Various physical activity (PA) guidelines recommend PA and resistance exercise (RE). However, the impact of PA and RE on the prevalence of depressive symptoms remains unclear. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether meeting PA and RE requirements is associated with the prevalence of depressive symptoms using nationally representative samples of adults. METHODS: We analyzed data from 11,829 (5,111 men and 6,718 women) participants aged 19+ years in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016 and 2018). Those diagnosed with depression by a physician or with a cutoff score of ≥11 on the Korean version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 were defined as having depressive symptoms. PA and RE were measured using a validated Global PA Questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the correlations between participating in leisure PA, simultaneously meeting RE guidelines (at least twice weekly), and prevalence of having depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Those participating in leisure PA and meeting RE guidelines simultaneously had a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms than those who did not (p < 0.001). After adjusting for covariates, those simultaneously participating in leisure PA and meeting RE guideline showed a significantly lower likelihood of having depressive symptoms among both men (odds ratio [OR] = 0.52, 95%confidence interval [CI] 0.32-0.84) and women (OR = 0.71, 95%CI 0.48-1.06), compared with those who did not participate in leisure PA but also did not meet the RE guideline. LIMITATION: The cross-sectional nature of the data prevented causal claims. CONCLUSION: Participation in leisure PA and RE was associated with a significantly lower prevalence of depressive symptoms. This suggests that both leisure PA and RE should be encouraged as effective means for preventing depression. The Yonsei Signature Research Cluster Project (2023-22-0017).