Onset of Depressive Symptoms and Leisure-Time Physical Activity Habits and Willingness Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Prospective Longitudinal Cohort Study.

Older adults who were willing to engage in leisure-time physical activity but had no established habit showed significantly higher odds of developing depressive symptoms compared to those with habitual physical activity.

• Logistic regression analysis showed OR 1.75 (95% CI 1.10-2.78) for the willing group compared to the habitual group
• The willing group comprised 246 participants (7.5% of the total sample)
• The habitual group comprised 2879 participants (87.2% of the total sample)
• Outcome was defined as a score of 6 or more on the Geriatric Depression Scale at 3-year follow-up

Older adults who were unwilling to engage in leisure-time physical activity and had no habit were not significantly associated with onset of depressive symptoms compared to the habitual group.

• The unwilling group showed OR 0.99 (95% CI 0.54-1.82) compared to the habitual group, which was not statistically significant
• The unwilling group comprised 176 participants (5.3% of the total sample)
• This contrasts with the significant association found in the willing-but-no-habit group

Over a 3-year follow-up period, 14.1% of community-dwelling older adults without baseline depressive symptoms developed depressive symptoms.

• 275 out of 3341 participants developed depressive symptoms during the follow-up period
• Participants had a median age of 70 years (interquartile range: 66-76 years)
• 56.0% of participants were women
• Participants were drawn from the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology Study of Geriatric Syndromes

The study classified participants into three groups based on leisure-time physical activity habits and willingness: habitual, willing (no habit but willing), and unwilling (no habit and unwilling).

• Leisure-time physical activity habits and willingness were assessed using a questionnaire
• The habitual group was the largest at 87.2% (n=2879), followed by willing at 7.5% (n=246), and unwilling at 5.3% (n=176)
• Depressive symptoms at baseline were excluded, leaving 3341 eligible participants
• Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the effects of habit and willingness on onset of depressive symptoms