Brief ReportsYearlong Physical Activity and Depressive Symptoms in Older Japanese Adults: Cross-Sectional Data from the Nakanojo Study
Section snippets
METHODS
The subjects were 83 male and 101 female volunteers aged 65–85 years. All resided in Nakanojo Town, Gunma Prefecture, a rural area of Japan. The subjects gave their written informed consent to participate in this institutionally approved study. On the basis of their annual medical examination, all subjects were judged free of chronic conditions that might limit their ability to engage in physical activity.
An electronic accelerometer with a storage capacity of 36 days (modified Kenz Lifecorder;
RESULTS
The year-averaged step count and the year-averaged duration of physical activity >3 METs (mean [standard deviation {SD}]) of our subjects were 6,635 (2750) steps/day and 17.7 (11.9) minutes/day, respectively. These two variables were significantly correlated with each other (r = 0.854, p <0.001, df = 183). Subjects taking <4,000 steps/day averaged <5 minutes/day at an intensity of >3 METs, whereas those taking >10,000 steps/day averaged >30 minutes/day at an intensity of >3 METs.
The mean (SD)
DISCUSSION
The present data show a trend toward an association between yearlong physical activity as measured by an accelerometer and a depressed mood state in older Japanese adults with relatively good psychosocial function. After controlling for the effects of age, both the daily step count and the daily duration of physical activity >3 METs had significant negative correlations with depression (HADS-D) scores. These findings seem in keeping with previous studies of subjects with clinically significant
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2013, Archives of Gerontology and GeriatricsCitation Excerpt :Our potential subjects have included all willing residents ≥65 years of age with the exception of those who are severely demented or bedridden (giving a sample of some 5000 participants). All participants have completed a conventional questionnaire on physical activity (Yasunaga et al., 2007) and many other health-related measures (Aoyagi, Park, Park, & Shephard, 2010; Park et al., 2008; Yasunaga et al., 2006; Yoshiuchi et al., 2006, 2010) once a year (see Table 1 for reported parameters). Moreover, in an arbitrarily selected age- and sex-matched subgroup, about a tenth of the total sample, an annual medical examination has been conducted (Aoyagi et al., 2009; Aoyagi, Park, Kakiyama, Park, et al., 2010; Park et al., 2007, 2008, 2010; Yoshiuchi et al., 2006) and physical activity assessed continuously for 24 h/day over >12 years using a specially adapted uniaxial pedometer/accelerometer (modified Kenz Lifecorder; Suzuken Co. Ltd., Nagoya, Aichi, Japan) (Togo et al., 2005, 2008; Yasunaga et al., 2008) (see Table 1 for measured parameters).
The authors acknowledge the expert technical assistance of the research and nursing staffs of the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, The University of Tokyo, and the Nakanojo Public Health Center.
This study was supported in part by a grant (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research [C]: 15500503) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.