Dose-response relationship between physical activity and psychological health outcomes

Our aim was to explore the prospective associations between physical activity and psychological health in mid-age and older women who completed mail surveys for the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health. Health outcomes in study 1 were depressive symptoms and mental health in mid-age women. Health outcomes in study 2 were anxiety and depressive symptoms in older women. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine associations between activity reported at an early survey and symptoms reported at a later survey (three and five years later for the mid-age cohort; three years later for the older cohort). At follow-up, mean depressive symptoms scores decreased and mental health scores increased with increasing levels of activity in the mid-age women, and there were risk eductions for women active for 60-150 mins/week (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.66-0.85). Sedentary women who increased their activity by >60 mins/week had a reduced risk of developing poor mental health (OR 0.69, 95%CI 0.58-0.82). Compared with those who remained sedentary, older women who maintained a high activity level or who increased activity over three years had lower symptom scores (