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Long distance ski racing is associated with lower long-term incidence of depression in a population based, large-scale study

Svensson, Martina LU orcid ; Brundin, Lena LU ; Erhardt, Sophie ; Madaj, Zachary ; Hållmarker, Ulf ; James, Stefan and Deierborg, Tomas LU (2019) In Psychiatry Research 281.
Abstract

Physical activity has been proposed to be beneficial for prevention of depression, although the importance of exercise intensity, sex-specific mechanisms, and duration of the effects need to be clarified. Using an observational study design, following 395,369 individuals up to 21 years we studied whether participation in an ultralong-distance cross-country ski race was associated with lower risk of developing depression. Skiers (participants in the race) and matched non-skiers from the general population (non-participants in the race) were studied after participation (same year for non-participation) in the race using the Swedish population and patient registries. The risk of depression in skiers (n = 197,685, median age 36 years, 38%... (More)

Physical activity has been proposed to be beneficial for prevention of depression, although the importance of exercise intensity, sex-specific mechanisms, and duration of the effects need to be clarified. Using an observational study design, following 395,369 individuals up to 21 years we studied whether participation in an ultralong-distance cross-country ski race was associated with lower risk of developing depression. Skiers (participants in the race) and matched non-skiers from the general population (non-participants in the race) were studied after participation (same year for non-participation) in the race using the Swedish population and patient registries. The risk of depression in skiers (n = 197,685, median age 36 years, 38% women) was significantly lower, to nearly half of that in non-skiers (adjusted hazard ratio, HR 0.53) over the follow-up period. Further, a higher fitness level (measured as the finishing time to complete the race, a proxy for higher exercise dose) was associated with lower incidence of depression in men (adjusted HR 0.65), but not in women. Our results support the recommendations of engaging in physical activity as a preventive strategy decreasing the risk for depression in both men and women. Furthermore, the exercise could reduce risk for depression in a dose-dependent matter, in particular in males.

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author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Exercise, Long-term effect, Men, Mental health, Psychiatric disorder, Women
in
Psychiatry Research
volume
281
article number
112546
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85073122603
  • pmid:31622872
ISSN
0165-1781
DOI
10.1016/j.psychres.2019.112546
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
d823c8dc-c689-49ee-a56b-9a3750430e9d
date added to LUP
2019-10-21 11:15:04
date last changed
2024-05-15 00:11:59
@article{d823c8dc-c689-49ee-a56b-9a3750430e9d,
  abstract     = {{<p>Physical activity has been proposed to be beneficial for prevention of depression, although the importance of exercise intensity, sex-specific mechanisms, and duration of the effects need to be clarified. Using an observational study design, following 395,369 individuals up to 21 years we studied whether participation in an ultralong-distance cross-country ski race was associated with lower risk of developing depression. Skiers (participants in the race) and matched non-skiers from the general population (non-participants in the race) were studied after participation (same year for non-participation) in the race using the Swedish population and patient registries. The risk of depression in skiers (n = 197,685, median age 36 years, 38% women) was significantly lower, to nearly half of that in non-skiers (adjusted hazard ratio, HR 0.53) over the follow-up period. Further, a higher fitness level (measured as the finishing time to complete the race, a proxy for higher exercise dose) was associated with lower incidence of depression in men (adjusted HR 0.65), but not in women. Our results support the recommendations of engaging in physical activity as a preventive strategy decreasing the risk for depression in both men and women. Furthermore, the exercise could reduce risk for depression in a dose-dependent matter, in particular in males.</p>}},
  author       = {{Svensson, Martina and Brundin, Lena and Erhardt, Sophie and Madaj, Zachary and Hållmarker, Ulf and James, Stefan and Deierborg, Tomas}},
  issn         = {{0165-1781}},
  keywords     = {{Exercise; Long-term effect; Men; Mental health; Psychiatric disorder; Women}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Psychiatry Research}},
  title        = {{Long distance ski racing is associated with lower long-term incidence of depression in a population based, large-scale study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2019.112546}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.psychres.2019.112546}},
  volume       = {{281}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}