Pre- and post-COVID 19 outbreak relationship between physical activity and depressive symptoms in Spanish adults with...

To evaluate the longitudinal association of sedentary behavior, light and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) participation with depressive symptoms and whether their possible association changed depending on the pandemic phase.

This longitudinal study conducted secondary analysis from the Spanish cohort of the Remote Assessment of Disease and Relapse - Major Depressive Disorder (RADAR-MDD) study. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8). Sedentary behavior and physical activity were estimated via wrist-worn devices. Linear mixed models evaluated the longitudinal associations of sedentary behavior and physical activity (light and moderate-to-vigorous intensities) with depressive symptoms.

In total, 95 participants (67.5% women, 53.0 [±10.5] years of age on average) were monitored pre-COVID-19 and included in the analyses. Pre-COVID-19, 73.7% of participants presented depression, and, on average, participated in 13.2 (±1.08) hours/day of sedentary behavior, 2.42 (±0.90) hours/day of light physical activity and 23.6 (±19.80) minutes/day of MVPA. Considering all the observations (from November 2019 to October 2020), an additional hour/day of sedentary behavior was longitudinally associated with higher depressive symptoms [βstd = 0.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.10 to 0.47], whereas an additional hour/day in light physical activity was associated with lower depressive symptoms (βstd = -0.06, 95% CI -0.59 to -0.15). Time in MVPA was not associated with depressive symptomatology. The association of sedentary behavior and light physical activity with depressive symptoms was significant only during pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 relaxation periods, whereas during the strictest periods of the pandemic with regards to the restrictions (lockdown and de-escalation), the association was not observed.

Sedentary behavior and light physical activity were longitudinally associated with depressive symptoms in participants with a history of MDD. The incorporation of light physical activity should be stimulated in adults with a history of MDD. Neither sedentary behavior nor light physical activity were associated with depressive symptoms during the most restrictive COVID-19 phases, whereas sedentary behavior (positively) and light physical activity (negatively) were associated with depressive symptoms in persons with MDD before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.