Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

A round-up of the ONWARDS phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the novel weekly insulin icodec in people with diabetes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 5/2013

01-05-2013 | Original Paper

Personality, physical activity, and symptoms of anxiety and depression: the HUNT study

Authors: Audun Brunes, Liv Berit Augestad, Sigridur Lara Gudmundsdottir

Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology | Issue 5/2013

Login to get access

Abstract

Purpose

To analyze the association between physical activity (PA), symptoms of depression and anxiety, and personality traits.

Methods

Cross-sectional study from a Norwegian population-based survey conducted in the period 2006–2008. The sample consisted of a total of 38,743 subjects aged ≥19 years, 56.1 % women and 43.9 % men. Demographic variables, PA, depression and anxiety (The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), and personality (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire) were assessed by self-reporting measurements.

Results

Individuals who reported moderate and high PA had significantly lower scores on depression and anxiety compared with less physically active individuals (p < 0.05). Significantly lower risk of HADS-defined depression and anxiety was associated with frequency, duration, and intensity of activity among women (p < 0.05), and significantly lower risk of HADS-defined depression was associated with frequency, duration, and intensity of activity among men (p < 0.05). There was a significant linear trend between extroversion and levels of PA (p < 0.01) and between neuroticism and PA (p < 0.01).

Conclusions

Subjects reporting regular leisure-time PA were less likely to report symptoms of HADS-defined depression and anxiety. Personality may be an underlying factor in explaining this association.
Literature
1.
2.
Murray CJL, Lopez AD (1997) Alternative projections of mortality and disability by cause 1990–2020: global burden of disease study. Lancet 349(9064):1498–1504PubMedCrossRef
3.
Biddle S, Mutrie N (2008) Psychology of physical activity: determinants, well-being and interventions, 2nd edn. Routledge, New York
4.
5.
Kessler R, Berglund P, Demler O, Jin R, Merikangas KR, Walters EE (2005) Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Arch Gen Psychiatry 62(6):593–602PubMedCrossRef
6.
Alonso J, Angermeyer MC, Bernert S et al (2004) Prevalence of mental disorders in Europe: results from the European study of the epidemiology of mental disorders (ESEMeD) project. Acta Psychiatr Scand 109(240):21–27
7.
North TC, McCullagh P, Tran ZV ZV (1990) Effect of exercise on depression. Exerc Sport Sci Rev 18(1):379–416PubMedCrossRef
8.
Byrne A, Byrne D (1993) The effect of exercise on depression, anxiety and other mood states: a review. J Psychosom Res 37(6):565–574PubMedCrossRef
9.
McDonald DG, Hodgdon JA (1991) The psychological effects of aerobic fitness training research and theory. Springer Verlag, New YorkCrossRef
10.
Petruzzello SJ, Landers DM, Hatfield BD, Kubitz KA, Salazar W (1991) A meta-analysis on the anxiety-reducing effects of acute and chronic exercise: outcomes and mechanisms. J Sports Med 11(3):143–182CrossRef
11.
Wipfli BM, Rethorst CD, Landers DM (2008) The anxiolytic effects of exercise: a meta-analysis of randomized trials and dose-response analysis. J Sport Exerc Psychol 30:392–410PubMed
12.
De Moor MHM, Beem AL, Stubbe JH, Boomsma DI, de Geus EJC (2006) Regular exercise, anxiety, depression and personality: a population-based study. Prev Med 42(4):273–279PubMedCrossRef
13.
Augestad LB, Slettemoen R, Flanders W (2008) Physical activity and depressive symptoms among Norwegian adults aged 20–50. Public Health Nurs 25(6):536–545PubMedCrossRef
14.
De Moor MHM, Boomsma DI, Stubbe JH, Willemsen G, de Geus EJC (2008) Testing causality in the association between regular exercise and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry 65(8):897–905PubMedCrossRef
15.
Goodwin RD (2003) Association between physical activity and mental disorders among adults in the United States. Prev Med 36(6):698–703PubMedCrossRef
16.
Harvey SB, Hotopf M, Overland S, Mykletun A (2010) Physical activity and common mental disorders. Br J Psychiatry 197(5):357–364PubMedCrossRef
17.
Hassmén P, Koivula N, Uutela A (2000) Physical exercise and psychological well-being: a population study in Finland. Prev Med 30(1):17–25PubMedCrossRef
18.
Mikkelsen SS, Tolstrup JS, Flachs EM, Mortensen EL, Schnohr P, Flensborg-Madsen T (2010) A cohort study of leisure time physical activity and depression. Prev Med 51(6):471–475PubMedCrossRef
19.
Hannah MK, Mutrie N (2007) The importance of both setting and intensity of physical activity in relation to non-clinical anxiety and depression. Int J Health Promot Educ 45(1):24–32
20.
Stephens T (1988) Physical activity and mental health in the United States and Canada: evidence from four population surveys. J Prevent Med 17(1):35–47CrossRef
21.
Thorsen L, Nystad W, Stigum H et al (2005) The association between self-reported physical activity and prevalence of depression and anxiety disorder in long-term survivors of testicular cancer and men in a general population sample. Support Care Cancer 13(8):637–646PubMedCrossRef
22.
Pettit JW, Grover KE, Lewinsohn PM (2007) Interrelations between psychopathology, psychosocial functioning, and physical health: an integrative perspective. Int J Clin Health Psychol 7(2):453–476
23.
Klein D, Kotov R, Bufferd S (2011) Personality and depression: explanatory models and review of the evidence. Annu Rev Clin Psychol 7(1):269–295PubMedCrossRef
24.
Middeldorp CM, Cath DC, Van den Berg M, Beem AL, Van Dyck R, Boomsma DI (2005) The association of personality with anxious and depressive psychopathology. In: Canli T (ed) The biological basis of personality and individual differences. Guilford Press, New York
25.
Rhodes RE, Smith NEI (2006) Personality correlates of physical activity: a review and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med 40(12):958–965PubMedCrossRef
26.
Emery CF, Huppert F, Schein R (1996) Health and personality predictors of psychological functioning in a 7-year longitudinal study. Pers Individ Differ 20(5):567–573CrossRef
27.
Kurtze N, Rangul V, Hustvedt BE (2008) Reliability and validity of the international physical activity questionnaire in the Nord-Trøndelag health study (HUNT) population of men. BMC Med Res Methodol 8(1):1–9CrossRef
28.
Augestad LB, Schei B, Forsmo S, Langhammer A, Flanders WD (2006) Healthy postmenopausal women—physical activity and forearm bone mineral density: the Nord-Trondelag health survey. J Women Aging 18(1):21–40PubMedCrossRef
29.
Zigmond AS, Snaith RP (1983) The hospital anxiety and depression scale. Acta Psychiatr Scand 67(6):361–370PubMedCrossRef
30.
Bjelland I, Dahl AA, Haug TT, Neckelmann D (2002) The validity of the hospital anxiety and depression scale—an updated literature review. J Psychosom Res 52:69–77PubMedCrossRef
31.
Eysenck S, Eysenck H, Barrett P (1985) A revised version of the psychoticism scale. Pers Individ Differ 6(1):21–29CrossRef
32.
Buss L, Larsen D (2005) Personality psychology: domains of knowledge about human nature. Mcgraw and Hill, New York
33.
Eysenck HJ, Eysenck SBG (1975) Manual of the Eysenck personality questionnaire. Hodder and Stoughton, London
34.
Tambs K, Eysenck SB (1990) EPQ-scores in Norway and England. A comparison. Scand J Psychol 31:191–197CrossRef
35.
Iwasaki Y (2008) Pathways to meaning-making through leisure in global contexts. J Leis Res 40(2):231–249
36.
Ströhle A (2009) Physical activity, exercise, depression and anxiety disorders. J Neural Transm 116(6):777–784PubMedCrossRef
37.
Garber CE, Blissmer B, Deschenes MR (2011) American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Quantity and quality of exercise for developing and maintaining cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and neuromotor fitness in apparently healthy adults: guidance for prescribing exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc 43(7):1334–1359PubMedCrossRef
38.
Martinsen EW, Moser T, Borge L, Moe T, Johannesen B, Kaggestad J (2004) Kropp og sinn: fysisk aktivitet og psykisk helse.(Body and mind: physical activity and psychological health) Bergen: Fagbokforlaget, p 184
39.
Janz NK, Becker MH (1984) The health belief model: a decade later. Health Educ Behav 11(1):1–47CrossRef
40.
Leach L, Christensen H, Mackinnon A, Windsor T, Butterworth P (2008) Gender differences in depression and anxiety across the adult lifespan: the role of psychosocial mediators. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 43(12):983–998PubMedCrossRef
41.
Hausenblas HA, Symons A, Downs D (2002) Exercise dependence: a systematic review. Psychol Sport Exerc 3(2):89–123CrossRef
42.
Hausenblas HA, Giacobbi PR Jr (2004) Relationship between exercise dependence symptoms and personality. Pers Individ Differ 36(6):1265–1273CrossRef
43.
Yeung RR, Hemsley DR (1997) Personality, exercise and psychological well-being: static relationships in the community. Pers Individ Differ 22(1):47–53CrossRef
44.
Forrest S, Lewis CA, Shevlin M (2000) Examining the factor structure and differential functioning of the Eysenck personality questionnaire revised—abbreviated. Pers Individ Differ 29(3):579–588CrossRef
Metadata
Title
Personality, physical activity, and symptoms of anxiety and depression: the HUNT study
Authors
Audun Brunes
Liv Berit Augestad
Sigridur Lara Gudmundsdottir
Publication date
01-05-2013
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Published in
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology / Issue 5/2013
Print ISSN: 0933-7954
Electronic ISSN: 1433-9285
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-012-0594-6

Other articles of this Issue 5/2013

Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 5/2013 Go to the issue

Original Paper

Mental illness and lost income among adult South Africans

Original Paper

Life events and difficulties and their association with antenatal distress in White and South Asian women in the UK

Original Paper

How are immigrant background and gender associated with the utilisation of psychiatric care among adolescents?

Original Paper

Collaborative Care Skills Training workshops: helping carers cope with eating disorders from the UK to Australia

Original Paper

Ethnicity and psychiatric comorbidity in a national sample: evidence for latent comorbidity factor invariance and connections with disorder prevalence

Original Paper

Recent criminal offending and suicide attempts: a national sample