Abstract
AB010. Effects of different walking intensities on alleviating depression in older adults with major depressive disorder: a pilot randomized controlled trial
Danny J. Yu1, Angus P. Yu1, Chit K. Leung1, Jacky M. Mo1, Joshua K. Bernal1, Edwin C. Chin1, Welton W. Leung1, Whitney W. Au1, Daniel Y. Fong2, Calvin P. Cheng3, Parco M. Siu1
1Division of Kinesiology, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China;
2School of Nursing, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China;
3Department of Psychiatry, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Correspondence to: Danny J. Yu. Division of Kinesiology, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. Email: dannyu@connect.hku.hk.
Background: The Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 reported that depression is a common global illness and over 264 million people are affected. WHO global physical activity recommendation suggests to older adults to perform 150–300 minutes moderate-intensity or 75–150 minutes vigorous-intensity physical activity to gain health benefits. Although physical activity has been demonstrated to be beneficial to patients with clinical depression, the optimal exercise intensity remains ascertained. This study aims to compare the effects of 12-week moderate- or vigorous-intensity walking exercise on alleviating depression in older depressed patients.
Methods: Older adults aged ≥50 years diagnosed with depression were recruited from January 2019 to June 2021. Participants were randomly allocated to the control group (n=9), vigorous-intensity (6.5 metabolic equivalents) walking group (n=9), or moderate-intensity (3.25 metabolic equivalents) walking exercise group (n=9). The walking intervention lasted for 12 weeks, and the exercise frequency was thrice a week. Participants in the control group were instructed to maintain daily life routines during the intervention period. Beck depression inventory and generalized anxiety disorder 7 were used to measure the depression and anxiety levels, respectively, at baseline and post-intervention measurement. The treatment effects were assessed using generalized estimating equations.
Results: Compared to the control group, depression level was significantly reduced in both walking intervention groups (P<0.001). There was 43.9% reduction in the depression score in the moderate-intensity walking group compared to the baseline, and 43.2% reduction in the vigorous-intensity walking group. There was no significant difference between the two walking groups. Similarly, compared to the control group, anxiety level significantly decreased in two walking intervention groups (P<0.001) and there was no significant difference between the two walking groups.
Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that 12-week walking training at both vigorous- and moderate-intensity significantly alleviated depression and anxiety levels in older adults with clinical depression.
Trial Registration: Clinical Trial Registration No. NCT04403373.
Keywords: Depression; walking exercise; exercise intensity
Acknowledgments
Funding: This project was supported by The University of Hong Kong Seed Fund for Basic Research and Health and Medical Research Fund (17182461) of Food and Health Bureau, Hong Kong SAR.
Reporting Checklist: The authors have completed the CONSORT for Abstracts reporting checklist. Available at https://dx.doi.org/10.21037/jphe-21-ab010
Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
doi: 10.21037/jphe-21-ab010
Cite this abstract as: Yu DJ, Yu AP, Leung CK, Mo JM, Bernal JK, Chin EC, Leung WW, Au WW, Fong DY, Cheng CP, Siu PM. AB010. Effects of different walking intensities on alleviating depression in older adults with major depressive disorder: a pilot randomized controlled trial. J Public Health Emerg 2021;5:AB010.
