ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1674459
This article is part of the Research TopicUnveiling the Mental Health Impact of Physical Decline in Older Adults: A Holistic ApproachView all 16 articles
The Interaction of Physical Activity and Sleep Quality with Depression and Anxiety in Older Adults
Provisionally accepted- Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
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Background: With the increase in the global aging population, the mental health of older adults has become increasingly prominent. This study aims to explore the relationship between the interaction of physical activity and sleep quality in older adults and depression and anxiety. Methods: A multi-stage stratified random sampling method was employed to survey various communities within Nanchang City, collecting data from 2,497 elderly individuals. The assessment tools included the Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7). Results: Among 2,497 participants, 582 (23.30%) had depressive tendencies; 1,122 (44.90%) had anxiety tendencies. The detection rate of depression and anxiety was higher in females than in males. Logistic regression analysis results showed that low physical activity was positively correlated with depression and anxiety (OR =9.46; 3.66), while poor sleep quality was positively associated with depression and anxiety (OR = 2.40; 9.96) (P < 0.05). There is an interactive effect between physical activity and sleep quality in relation to anxiety and depressive symptoms in older adults. Specifically, compared to low physical activity combined with poor sleep quality, the combination of high physical activity and good sleep quality is associated with reduced levels of both anxiety and depression(P < 0.05). Conclusion: This investigation underscores the dynamic interplay among physical activity, sleep quality, depressive symptoms, and anxiety in older adults, forming a critical foundation for designing tailored interventions to enhance mental health outcomes in this population.
Keywords: older adults, physical activity, sleep quality, Depression, Anxiety
Received: 28 Jul 2025; Accepted: 07 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yuaqing, Huang, Hu and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Yuan Yuaqing, 202340100804@jxnu.edu.cn
Wenying Huang, huangwenying66@163.com
Chang Hu, huchang@jxnu.edu.cn
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