The association between physical activity and depression in cancer patients: A cross-sectional study from NHANES 2007 to 2018

The general population shows a correlation between low-intensity physical activity and increased severity of depressive symptom. However, the nature of the relationship between these factors remains unclear among cancer patients. This study seeks to examine the association between physical activity levels and depression in this population. A total of 1993 participants aged 20 to 79 years were selected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between 2007 and 2018. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed using EmpowerStats and R software (version 3.4.3). Among the 1993 cancer patients, 254 (12.7%) reported experiencing depressive symptoms. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, participants engaging in high-intensity physical activity exhibited a 40% lower rate of depression compared to those engaging in low-intensity exercise (OR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.45-0.81). Stratified analyses further revealed that, in the fully adjusted model, physical activity significantly influenced the risk of depression across subgroups stratified by age, gender, race, education level, marital status, and smoking status. Physical activity emerges as a significant factor influencing depression risk. Additionally, low-intensity physical activity is associated with an elevated likelihood of depressive symptoms among cancer patients.