Lecture 11- Physical activity & depression

Question 1

Depression

Answer 1

A transient mood state or a clinical disorder

Question 2

Key signs of depression

Answer 2

-Constantly feeling down or hopeless
-Having little interest or pleasure in doing things you used to enjoy

Question 3

Treatment options for depression

Answer 3

-Medication
-Psychotherapy
-Physical activity??

Question 4

Depression, anxiety and mental distress measured by age group in 2018

Answer 4

20% of the population that are suffering from depression In the community and this is not including people that have smaller levels of depression so its going to under represent how much depression is actually prevalent

Question 5

Measurement in physical activity & mental health: Psychological constructs

Answer 5

-Self report scales (e.g Beck Depression Inventory)- Assess the severity of the symptoms of depression on a scale

We also have to know that these scales are reliable
- We have to make sure our scale is valid to depression rather than something like anxiety
Cant just develop our own there is processes that they go through to make sure the scales are valid

There is also clinical diagnosis using DSM IV criteria for severe

Question 6

Measurement in physical activity & mental health: Phsical activity

Answer 6

-Objective measures -e.g accelerometer, step counts, fitness change

-Self report questionnaires -How many minutes have you spent undertaking moderate intensity PA in the past 7 days? (not as good as they have bias)

Question 7

Importance of research methods to conclusions: Correlational research

Answer 7

Shows association between 2 variables measured at the same time (People report how physical active they are and they then also report how many symptoms of depression or how serious)
- They take two measurements at the same time
- They see if they correlate

Question 8

Importance of research methods to conclusions: Applied to depression & PA relationship

Answer 8

-Prevalence of low PA is significantly higher in those with depression v no depression
-But chicken and egg scenario

They concluded that they said that people with low physical activity have higher depression and vs versa people that have lower levels of depression have higher levels of physical activity

Mental ill health -> Inactivity
Inactivity->mental ill health

Question 9

Cohurt study on physical activity

Answer 9

1 hour of exercise/week of any intensity protective against future incidence of depression

Question 10

Components of Physical activity

Answer 10

Frequency
Time
Intensity
Type

Question 11

Randomised controlled trails

Answer 11

Gold standard

Question 12

How does a randomised control trial set up

Answer 12

Eligible participants - randomly allocated
->
Exercise intervention & Control group
->
Another treatment
->
Compare change in depression across time between groups

Question 13

Randomised controlled trail evidence depression

Answer 13

PA interventions are effective in improving symptoms of depression

Question 14

Randomised controlled trail evidence depression (frequency)

Answer 14

-Exercising 3-5 times per week is advised

-Most effective interventions are <-12 weeks

Question 15

Randomised controlled trail evidence depression (time)

Answer 15

-Sessions >60minutes similar outcomes to those 30-60 minutes

Question 16

Randomised controlled trail evidence depression (intensity)

Answer 16

-Moderate intensity recommended; but studies have also shown benefits of light/vigorous

Question 17

Randomised controlled trail evidence depression (type)

Answer 17

Very strong evidence for aerobic forms of PA, other modes (yoga, muscle strengthening) also beneficial

Combining aerobic and muscle strengthening may be optimal

Question 18

All of these factors (mode, intensity, frequency, time) interact with eachother in complex ways that we do not fully understand. We should also take into account

Answer 18

Personal experiences, preferences and motivations

Question 19

How does PA compare to other treatments

Answer 19

1-Exercise
2-Medication
3-Exercise and medication
4-Control group (placebo)

Question 20

Medication works faster but …

Answer 20

Exercise group less likely to relapse (when exercise continued)