Leisure-time and light occupational physical activity, but not active commuting, were associated with fewer mental health symptoms, suggesting potential mental health benefits of physical activity may be domain- and volume-specific.
Key Findings
Results
High volumes of active commuting (≥30 min/day) were associated with higher odds of depressive symptoms.
OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.18–2.13 for active commuting ≥30 min/day compared to lower volumes or passive commuting
No associations were observed for lower active commuting volumes
No associations were observed when active commuting was analysed as a binary variable (active vs. passive)
Study population: 3439 Finnish employed adults, mean age 45.0 years, 51% female, from the FinHealth 2017 Study
Cross-sectional design with logistic regression adjusted for key covariates
Results
Lightly active workers had lower odds of psychological distress compared to sedentary workers.
OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.40–0.97 for lightly active workers vs. sedentary workers
No significant associations were observed for moderately or highly active workers compared to sedentary workers
Occupational physical activity was categorised as sedentary, lightly active, or moderately/highly active
Outcome measured was psychological distress, not depressive symptoms
Results
Exercisers and athletes had substantially lower odds of both depressive symptoms and psychological distress compared to sedentary individuals.
OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.32–0.61 for depressive symptoms among exercisers/athletes vs. sedentary individuals
OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.21–0.55 for psychological distress among exercisers/athletes vs. sedentary individuals
Leisure-time physical activity was categorised as sedentary, recreationally active, or exercisers/athletes
These were the strongest and most consistent associations observed across all physical activity domains
Results
Recreationally active adults also had lower odds of depressive symptoms and psychological distress compared to sedentary individuals.
Both depressive symptoms and psychological distress outcomes showed significant associations for recreationally active adults
Effect sizes were smaller than those observed for exercisers/athletes
Recreationally active adults represent an intermediate leisure-time physical activity category between sedentary and exercisers/athletes
Findings suggest a dose-response pattern within leisure-time physical activity categories
Discussion
The study found domain-specific and volume-specific differences in the relationship between physical activity and mental health outcomes.
Leisure-time physical activity showed the most consistent and strongest associations with better mental health
Light occupational physical activity was beneficially associated with mental health, but moderate/high occupational activity was not
High-volume active commuting was paradoxically associated with worse mental health (higher depressive symptoms)
Results suggest that the context and volume of physical activity, not just total activity, may determine mental health benefits
Cross-sectional design limits causal inference; reverse causality (e.g., people with depression less likely to exercise) cannot be excluded
Methods
The study sample consisted of 3439 Finnish employed adults drawn from the population-based FinHealth 2017 Study.
Mean age of participants was 45.0 years
51% of participants were female
Participants were categorised into physical activity groups based on commuting, occupational, and leisure-time behaviour
Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios with models adjusted for key covariates
Outcomes assessed were depressive symptoms and psychological distress
What This Means
This research examined how different types of physical activity — during leisure time, at work, and while commuting — relate to mental health in over 3,400 employed Finnish adults. The researchers found that not all physical activity is equally beneficial for mental health, and the context in which activity occurs matters considerably. People who exercised or were athletically active in their leisure time had about half the odds of experiencing depressive symptoms and about one-third the odds of psychological distress compared to those who were sedentary in their free time, making leisure-time activity the most strongly linked to better mental health.
Interestingly, the findings for work-based and commuting activity were more complex. Light physical activity at work (compared to fully sedentary work) was associated with lower psychological distress, but moderate or heavy occupational physical activity showed no such benefit. More surprisingly, people who actively commuted (e.g., walking or cycling) for 30 minutes or more per day actually had higher odds of depressive symptoms compared to those who were less active in their commute — though commuting activity overall (when simply categorized as active vs. passive) showed no clear association with mental health.
This research suggests that promoting leisure-time physical activity may be an effective strategy for supporting mental health in working adults, but that physically demanding jobs or long active commutes do not appear to offer the same benefits, and may even be associated with worse outcomes in some cases. The study's cross-sectional design means it cannot prove causation — for instance, people with depression may simply be less likely to exercise voluntarily — but the domain-specific differences in findings point to the importance of considering the type and context of physical activity, not just the total amount, when thinking about its relationship to mental wellbeing.
Jussila J, Pulakka A, Appelqvist-Schmidlechner K, Halonen J, Ervasti J, Salo P, et al.. (2026). Associations of Domain-Specific Physical Activity With Mental Health Symptoms Among Finnish Employed Adults: A Population-Based Study.. European journal of sport science. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsc.70118