The longitudinal relationship among physical activity, loneliness, and mental health in middle-aged and older adults: Results from the Edad con Salud cohort

IF 2.3 3区医学 Q2 PSYCHIATRY

Mental Health and Physical Activity Pub Date : 2024-12-21 DOI:10.1016/j.mhpa.2024.100667

Jordi Rodeiro , Beatriz Olaya , Josep Maria Haro , Aina Gabarrell-Pascuet , José Luis Ayuso-Mateos , Lea Francia , Cristina Rodríguez-Prada , Blanca Dolz-del-Castellar , Joan Domènech-Abella

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objectives

Existing research suggests there to be interrelated connections among physical activity, loneliness, and mental health. However, the possible mediating effects between them in middle-aged and older adults is unclear. This study aims to investigate the longitudinal relationship among physical activity, loneliness, and common mental disorders to clarify potential mediation effects.

Methods

We analysed longitudinal data from 1973 participants aged 50 and over, drawn from the Longitudinal Ageing and Health Study Spain (“Edad con Salud”, ageingandhealth.com). Loneliness was evaluated using the 3-item UCLA loneliness scale, while physical activity was measured with the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire version 2 (GPAQ v2). Common mental disorders were assessed by considering lifetime episodes of major depressive and generalized anxiety disorders (MDD and GAD) following the criteria outlined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Employing a crosslagged panel model (CLPM), cross-lagged and autoregressive longitudinal associations among loneliness, common mental disorders, and physical activity were examined.

Results

Physical inactivity predicted higher subsequent loneliness, which in turn predicted common mental disorders. The reverse pathways were statistically supported as well, suggesting bi-directional influences. All autoregressive associations were statistically significant.

Discussion

The improvement of mental health through physical activity is facilitated by the mediation of loneliness, indicating the potential of the social aspect of physical activity as a preventive measure for MDD and GAD, as well as the need to address feelings of loneliness in individuals with common mental disorders in order to facilitate their participation in physical activities.

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来源期刊

Mental Health and Physical Activity PSYCHIATRY-

CiteScore

6.70

自引率

6.40%

发文量

审稿时长

32 days

期刊介绍： The aims of Mental Health and Physical Activity will be: (1) to foster the inter-disciplinary development and understanding of the mental health and physical activity field; (2) to develop research designs and methods to advance our understanding; (3) to promote the publication of high quality research on the effects of physical activity (interventions and a single session) on a wide range of dimensions of mental health and psychological well-being (eg, depression, anxiety and stress responses, mood, cognitive functioning and neurological disorders, such as dementia, self-esteem and related constructs, psychological aspects of quality of life among people with physical and mental illness, sleep, addictive disorders, eating disorders), from both efficacy and effectiveness trials;