High levels of physical activity are associated with a reduced likelihood of depressive symptoms in postmenopausal women

ABSTRACT

Depressive symptoms in postmenopausal women are a significant concern, but studies evaluated their relationship with menopausal symptoms and physical activity are limited. This cross-sectional study used the scale of the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the modified Kupperman Index (KMI) to investigate the relationship between depressive symptoms, menopausal symptoms, and physical activity in postmenopausal women in Hunan Province, using cluster random sampling, and face-to-face interviews with women aged 50–64 years. The moderate (aOR = 2.242, 95 percent CI [1.646–3.052], P < .001) and severe menopausal symptoms (aOR = 3.654, 95 percent CI [1.754–7.611], P = .001), and low-level physical activity (aOR = 1.380, 95 percentCI [1.023–1.826], P = .035) may increase the risk of depressive symptoms. High levels of physical activity were associated with a decreased likelihood of depressive symptoms, but only when participants had no complaints of menopausal symptoms (aOR = 0.375, 95 percent CI [0.161–0.877], P = .024). This study provides a new result for the mental health of postmenopausal women and provides a reference for further related research.

KEYWORDS:

• Depressive symptoms
• menopausal symptoms
• physical activity
• postmenopausal women

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the participants and investigators for their contribution to the study, and acknowledge the support provided by the Hunan province and local Women’s Federation, Office of the Committee for Women and Children’s Workers, and health administration in Hunan provinces in China.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from Women’s Health Needs Survey (WHNS). Restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for this study. Data are available from the corresponding author ([email protected])with the permission of the WHNS.

Ethical statements

The methods of this study were carried out following the guidelines and regulations of the Declaration of Helsinki. The Ethical Committee approved the cross-sectional study of the Xiangya Nursing School, Central South University. Written consent was obtained from all participants (or their parents or legal guardian in the case of children under 16). All information in this study is anonymized, and all authors cannot identify individual participants during or after data collection.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Women’s Theory and Practice Project of Hunan Women’s Federation and Women’s Research Association (Grant No. 20YB03), Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 2022JJ30774), and Key Laboratory of Hunan Province for Nursing (2017TP1004). The funders had no role in the study.