{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T17:53:41Z","timestamp":1790704421692,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"20","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,10,22]],"date-time":"2019-10-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1571702400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"30000USD","award":["NRF-2019S1A5A8034211"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NRF-2019S1A5A8034211"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and objectives: Only a few studies analyzed the physical activity level of elderly people living alone in local communities and evaluated the relationship between it and mental health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between regular physical activity and depression in the elderly living alone and to provide basic data for the prevention of depression in the elderly. Materials and Methods: We analyzed 256 elderly people living alone aged 65 years or older who completed the 2014 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Depression was defined as a score of 10 or higher using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). This study investigated walking per week, days of muscular strength exercise performance in the past 1 week, days of flexibility exercise in the past 1 week, mean hours in a sitting position per day, the numbers of days and hours conducting a high intensity physical activity in the past 1 week, and numbers of days and hours conducting a medium intensity physical activity in the past 1 week to define physical activity. Our study presented prevalence odds ratios (pOR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) by using complex sample logistic regression analysis in order to identify the relationship between physical activity and depression. Results: The results of complex sample logistic regression analysis showed that flexibility exercise was significantly related to depression (p &lt; 0.05). On the other hand, the mean hours in a sitting position per day, aerobic physical activity, walking, and muscular strength exercise were not significantly related to geriatric depression. Conclusions: The results of our study implied that persistent flexibility exercise might be more effective to maintain a healthy mental status than muscular strength exercise. A longitudinal study is required to prove the causal relationship between physical activity and depression in the old age.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph16204051","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,10,23]],"date-time":"2019-10-23T11:46:59Z","timestamp":1571831219000},"page":"4051","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":46,"title":["Relationship between Physical Activity Level and Depression of Elderly People Living Alone"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Haewon","family":"Byeon","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Speech Language Pathology, School of Public Health, Honam University, 417, Eodeung-daero, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju 62399, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,10,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Lopez, A.D., and Murray, C.J. (1996). The Global Burden of Disease: A Comprehensive Assessment of Mortality and Disability from Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors in 1990 and Projected to 2020, Harvard School of Public Health."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1139","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(11)61337-8","article-title":"Progress towards Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 on maternal and child mortality: An updated systematic analysis","volume":"378","author":"Lozano","year":"2011","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Lee, S.M., Back, J.H., Yoon, D.Y., and Kim, J.Y. (2013). Analysis of Socio-Economic Impacts of Mental Health Problems, National Health Insurance Corporation."},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"Ministry of Health & Welfare (2014). Survey of the Elderly."},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"Lee, S.H. (2008). Elderly Depression and Mental Health Services."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.3109\/10903127.2010.514093","article-title":"Prevalence of depression and cognitive impairment in older adult emergency medical services patients","volume":"15","author":"Shah","year":"2011","journal-title":"Prehosp. Emerg. Care"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"123","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-publhealth-031811-124544","article-title":"Early intervention to reduce the global health and economic burden of major depression in older adults","volume":"33","author":"Reynolds","year":"2012","journal-title":"Annu. Rev. Public Health"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S131","DOI":"10.2105\/AJPH.2011.300445","article-title":"Suicide risk and precipitating circumstances among young, middle-aged, and older male veterans","volume":"102","author":"Kaplan","year":"2012","journal-title":"Am. J. Public Health"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1961","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(05)66665-2","article-title":"Depression in the elderly","volume":"365","author":"Alexopoulos","year":"2005","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_10","unstructured":"Statistics Korea (2018). Population Census."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"397","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ypmed.2008.01.009","article-title":"Physical activity and likelihood of depression in adults: A review","volume":"46","author":"Teychenne","year":"2008","journal-title":"Prev. Med."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1381","DOI":"10.1249\/01.MSS.0000078924.61453.FB","article-title":"International Physical Activity Qestion naire (IPAQ): 12-country reliability and validity","volume":"35","author":"Craig","year":"2003","journal-title":"Med. Sci. Sports Exerc."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"777","DOI":"10.1007\/s00702-008-0092-x","article-title":"Physical activity, exercise, depression and anxiety disorders","volume":"116","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Neural Transm. (Vienna)"},{"key":"ref_14","first-page":"181","article-title":"Prevalence and affecting factors of depression in men aged 60 and over in urban community","volume":"11","author":"Kim","year":"2015","journal-title":"Crisisonomy"},{"key":"ref_15","first-page":"192","article-title":"Comparison of depression between the elderly living alone and those living with a spouse","volume":"21","author":"Kim","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Korean Soc. Biol. Ther. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Arias-Palencia, N.M., Solera-Mart\u00ednez, M., Gracia-Marco, L., Silva, P., Mart\u00ednez-Vizca\u00edno, V., Ca\u00f1ete-Garc\u00eda-Prieto, J., and S\u00e1nchez-L\u00f3pez, M. (2015). Levels and patterns of objectively assessed physical activity and compliance with different public health guidelines in university students. PLoS ONE, 10.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0141977"},{"key":"ref_17","unstructured":"Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015). Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"218","DOI":"10.1016\/j.comppsych.2007.08.006","article-title":"Validation of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) Korean version in the elderly population","volume":"49","author":"Han","year":"2008","journal-title":"Compr. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_19","first-page":"47","article-title":"Standardization of the Korean version of screening tool for depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9, PHQ-9)","volume":"19","author":"An","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Korean Soc. Biol. Ther. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"200","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.326.7382.200","article-title":"Identifying depression in primary care: A comparison of different methods in a prospective cohort study","volume":"326","author":"Henkel","year":"2003","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"key":"ref_21","unstructured":"International Center for Alcohol Policies (2005). ICAP Blue Book: Practical Guides for Alcohol Policy and Prevention Approaches, International Center for Alcohol Policies."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"43","DOI":"10.1177\/0885412211415283","article-title":"The role of the built environment in healthy aging: Community design, physical activity, and health among older adults","volume":"27","author":"Kerr","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Plan. Lit."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2349","DOI":"10.1001\/archinte.159.19.2349","article-title":"Effects of exercise training on older patients with major depression","volume":"159","author":"Blumenthal","year":"1999","journal-title":"Arch. Intern. Med."},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"Morgan, W.P., and Goldston, S.E. (1987). Exercise and Mental Health, Hemisphere Publishing."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"781","DOI":"10.1016\/S0277-9536(99)00137-9","article-title":"Physical activity social support and middle-and older-aged minority women: Results from a US survey","volume":"49","author":"Eyler","year":"1999","journal-title":"Soc. Sci. Med."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"411","DOI":"10.1017\/S1368980099000567","article-title":"The influence of physical activity on mental well-being","volume":"2","author":"Fox","year":"1999","journal-title":"Public Health Nut."},{"key":"ref_27","first-page":"89","article-title":"Effects of physical activity patterns for 16 weeks on depression scale, social health scale, and senior fitness in elderly women","volume":"24","author":"Lee","year":"2016","journal-title":"Korean Soc. Growth Dev."},{"key":"ref_28","unstructured":"Bouchard, C., Shephard, R.J., Stephens, T., Sutton, J.R., and McPherson, B.D. (1990). Exercise, Fitness, and Health: A Consensus of Current Knowledge, Human Kinetics Publishers."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"399","DOI":"10.1017\/S0144686X00004372","article-title":"Customary physical activity, psychological well-being and successful ageing","volume":"11","author":"Morgan","year":"1991","journal-title":"Ageing Soc."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"605","DOI":"10.1007\/s12529-013-9351-9","article-title":"The effects of tai chi on depression, anxiety, and psychological well-being: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"21","author":"Wang","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int. J. Behav. Med."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"245","DOI":"10.1177\/0193945908327529","article-title":"A review of clinical trials of tai chi and qigong in older adults","volume":"31","author":"Rogers","year":"2009","journal-title":"West J. Nurs. Res."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"117","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2012.00117","article-title":"Yoga on our minds: A systematic review of yoga for neuropsychiatric disorders","volume":"3","author":"Balasubramaniam","year":"2013","journal-title":"Front. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_33","first-page":"1","article-title":"The effect of physical activity participation on the loneliness and depression for Korean, Chinese, and Japanese elderly","volume":"14","author":"Oh","year":"2003","journal-title":"Korean J. Sport Psychol."}],"container-title":["International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/16\/20\/4051\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T13:28:27Z","timestamp":1760189307000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/16\/20\/4051"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2019,10,22]]},"references-count":33,"journal-issue":{"issue":"20","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,10]]}},"alternative-id":["ijerph16204051"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijerph16204051","relation":{},"ISSN":["1660-4601"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1660-4601","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2019,10,22]]}}}