The effects of physical activity on depression and quality of life in Chinese perimenopausal women

Global prevalence of depression in menopausal women: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

An association between the menopause and depression is widely reported. This review aims to determine the global prevalence of depression in menopausal women (this includes women in perimenopause and postmenopause).

METHODS

PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and PsycINFO databases were systematically searched from database inception until March 1, 2024. Studies with validated methods for assessing the prevalence of depression in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women were included. Two authors independently extracted relevant data. Random effects meta-analysis and Meta-regression analysis were performed using Stata software.

RESULTS

Total of 55 studies (76,817 participants) were included in the review. A random effects model was used to calculate pooled prevalence. The pooled depression prevalence in menopausal women was 35.6 % (95 % CI: 32.0-39.2 %), with 33.9 % (95 % CI: 27.8-40.0 %) in perimenopausal women, and 34.9 % (95 % CI: 30.7-39.1 %) in postmenopausal women. Subgroup analyses indicated that region, screening tool, study design, and setting moderated the prevalence of depression. Meta-regression indicated that smaller sample sizes and poorer study quality were significantly associated with a higher prevalence.

LIMITATIONS

There was a high degree of heterogeneity across the included studies. Only articles published in English were included. There was significant publication bias in this meta-analysis. There is insufficient information about many risk factors of menopausal depression in current meta-analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

Depression is common among menopausal women worldwide. To reduce the negative impact of depression on health outcomes in menopausal women, regular screening and the availability of effective prevention and treatment measures should be made available for this population.

Physical "lying flat": The negative effect of personal relative deprivation on health-promoting lifestyles

BACKGROUND

Social comparison is an inevitable aspect of human life, often leading to personal relative deprivation, wherein individuals experience a sense of unfair treatment when they perceive themselves as being at a disadvantage in comparison to others. Earlier research has observed a phenomenon called "lying flat" associated with personal relative deprivation, characterized by a lack of motivation for self-improvement. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether this pattern is suitable for the domains of health-promoting lifestyles given that health-promoting is driven by self-improvement motivation.

METHODS

In three studies conducted in China, an understudied non-Western society, we investigated the association between personal relative deprivation and health-promoting lifestyles by utilizing diverse measures and samples.

RESULTS

Findings from Study 1 (N = 12,465) indicated a negative relationship between personal relative deprivation and health-promoting behavior. This effect was particularly prominent among older individuals (Study 2, N = 11,378). Study 3 (N = 234) indirectly explored the possibility that a decreased priority given to health goals explains the reduced adoption of health-promoting behaviors when experiencing personal relative deprivation.

LIMITATIONS

First, all health-promoting lifestyles are self-reported. Second, the mechanism between PRD and health-promoting lifestyles was not directly examined.

CONCLUSION

Overall, this research confirms the physical "lying flat" phenomenon, highlighting that personal relative deprivation contributes to unhealthy diets and physical inactivity. Moreover, our findings also suggest that the lower significance placed on health goals relative to other life goals may serve as an underlying reason for this phenomenon.

Association of habitual physical activity with depression and anxiety: a multicentre cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

Despite the known benefits of physical activity, the effect of habitual physical activity (HPA) on depression and anxiety remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association of HPA with the risk of depression and anxiety among Chinese adults, with the consideration of disease severity.

METHODS

The participants in this multicentre cross-sectional study were from the nationwide survey of the psychology and behaviour of Chinese residents. Depression and anxiety were measured using the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire and seven-item Generalised Anxiety Disorder scale. HPA was assessed by the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Crude and adjusted ORs with their 95% CIs were estimated by using ordinal logistic regression.

RESULTS

Of the 19 798 participants, 3901 (19.7%) had anxiety and 8914 (45.02%) had depression. Compared with inactive participants, depression risk in individuals reporting low, median and high volume HPA was reduced by 23% (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.66 to 0.89), 21% (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.90) and 13% (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.98), respectively, after adjustment for confounder. No significant association of HPA with anxiety risk was observed.

CONCLUSION

Participation in HPA, whether low, median or high volume, was associated with a lower risk of depression compared with inactive participation, while no significant association was observed between HPA and anxiety.