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  • Association between accelerometer-derived physical activity and depression: a cross-sectional study using isotemporal substitution analysis

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Epidemiology
Original research
Association between accelerometer-derived physical activity and depression: a cross-sectional study using isotemporal substitution analysis
  1. Jungmi Park1,
  2. Hee-Kyoung Nam1,
  3. Sung-Il Cho1,2
  1. 1 Department of Public Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
  2. 2 Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
  1. Correspondence to Professor Sung-Il Cho; persontime{at}hotmail.com

Abstract

Objectives Depression is a significant public health concern, and physical activity has been identified as a non-pharmacological intervention. Understanding the dose–response relationship between physical activity and depression is crucial for designing effective exercise interventions and recommending physical activity to individuals with depression. The isotemporal substitution model is considered the gold standard for estimating the dose–response effects of physical activity. This study aims to investigate the dose–response association between depression and accelerometer-measured physical activity in the Korean population.

Design Cross-sectional analysis.

Setting A non-probability sample of the community population was drawn from the 2014 and 2016 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Participants The study included 1543 adults aged 19–64 years who completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and volunteered to wear an accelerometer.

Main outcome measures Physical activity was measured using a GT3X+ accelerometer for 7 consecutive days, and activity was categorised as sedentary behaviour (SB) or light, moderate or vigorous physical activity. Depression was assessed using the PHQ-9.

Results Physical activity and SB were associated with depression. In the single-parameter model, moderate–vigorous physical activity (MVPA) showed a significant association with reduced odds of depression (OR: 0.817, 95% CI: 0.678 to 0.985). Substituting 30 min of SB with 30 min of MVPA (OR: 0.815, 95% CI: 0.669 to 0.992) was linked to a decrease in the odds of depression. Conversely, replacing 30 min of MVPA with 30 min of SB (OR: 1.227, 95% CI: 1.008 to 1.495) was associated with an increase in the odds of depression.

Conclusions This study provides evidence of an association between physical activity and depression in the Korean population, highlighting the importance of reducing SB and increasing MVPA to prevent and manage depression. Further research is needed to confirm causality and determine optimal levels of physical activity for preventing depression in different populations.

  • mental health
  • depression & mood disorders
  • behavior

Data availability statement

Data are available in a public, open access repository. Open access data are available on the KNHANES website (https://knhanes.kdca.go.kr/knhanes/main.do).

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-078199

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    Data availability statement

    Data are available in a public, open access repository. Open access data are available on the KNHANES website (https://knhanes.kdca.go.kr/knhanes/main.do).

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors JP contributed to the study concept, conducted statistical analysis and drafted the manuscript. S-IC provided insight during study design and reviewed the manuscript. H-KN reviewed the manuscript. S-IC acts as guarantor for the final manuscript.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.