The dual impact of physical exercise on depression and fall risk in older Chinese adults — evidence from CHARLS 2020

These findings suggest that physical exercise not only directly improves mental health but also indirectly reduces fall risk through alleviating depressive symptoms in urban older adults. The lack of a significant mediating effect in rural areas suggests that local contextual factors may alter the exercise-depression-fall pathway. The results support integrated public health interventions tailored to local settings to enhance both mental and physical outcomes among China's aging population.