Traditional physical exercise and depression in older adults: the mediating role of interoceptive awareness and the moderating effect of perceived stress.

Traditional physical exercise showed a significant association with lower depressive symptoms in older adults.

• Cross-sectional survey conducted with 337 older adults who regularly participated in traditional physical exercise.
• Depression measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9).
• Physical activity was assessed using the Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3).
• Bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals based on 5,000 resamples were used for analysis.

Interoceptive awareness partially mediated the association between traditional physical exercise and depressive symptoms.

• Interoceptive awareness was measured using the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA-2).
• The mediation was described as partial, indicating direct effects of exercise on depression also remained significant.
• Greater awareness of internal bodily states was identified as 'one pathway linking exercise participation and mental health.'
• Confirmatory factor analysis and model fit indices were examined using AMOS.

Perceived stress moderated the relationship between traditional physical exercise and interoceptive awareness, with higher stress levels attenuating this association.

• Perceived stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).
• Higher perceived stress levels weakened the association between traditional physical exercise and interoceptive awareness.
• Moderation analysis was conducted using SPSS with bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals based on 5,000 resamples.
• The moderating effect suggests that stress may reduce the benefit of exercise on interoceptive awareness.

The study employed a cross-sectional design with 337 older adults who regularly participated in traditional physical exercise.

• Sample size was 337 older adults.
• All participants were regular participants in traditional physical exercise (e.g., tai chi or similar practices implied by 'traditional').
• Measures included PARS-3, MAIA-2, PSS, and PHQ-9.
• Mediation and moderation analyses were conducted using SPSS with bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals based on 5,000 resamples.