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Physical activity partly mediates the association between cognitive function and depressive symptoms.
Zsófia Csajbók1, Stefan Sieber2,3, Stéphane Cullati4,5
1Faculty of Humanities, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. csajbok.zsofia@gmail.com.
Translational Psychiatry
|September 27, 2022
Summary
Physical activity mediates the link between cognitive function and depressive symptoms in older adults. Higher cognitive function encourages physical activity, which in turn reduces depression.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Neuroscience
- Public Health
Background:
- Cognitive function, physical activity, and depressive symptoms are key factors in aging.
- The precise relationship and mediating pathways among these variables in older adults remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether physical activity or cognitive function acts as the primary mediator in the relationship between the other two variables.
- To elucidate the directionality of influence among cognitive function, physical activity, and depressive symptoms in later life.
Main Methods:
- Utilized longitudinal data from 51,191 adults aged 50+ from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE).
- Employed longitudinal mediation analyses and autoregressive cross-lagged panel models to assess mediation pathways.
Main Results:
- The model where physical activity mediated the relationship between cognitive function and depressive symptoms demonstrated a superior fit to the data.
- Physical activity accounted for 8-9% of the total effect of cognitive function on depressive symptoms.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive resources appear to promote engagement in physical activity among older adults.
- Increased physical activity, facilitated by higher cognitive function, contributes to a reduction in depressive symptoms.
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