Depression, anxiety and quality of life scores in seniors after an endurance exercise program

• Autor(a) principal: Antunes,Hanna Karen Moreira
• Data de Publicação: 2005
• Outros Autores: Stella,Sérgio Garcia, Santos,Ruth Ferreira, Bueno,Orlando Francisco Amodeu, Mello,Marco Túlio de
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry (São Paulo. 1999. Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1516-44462005000400003
• topic: Depression; Anxiety; Quality of life; Aged; Physical endurance; Exercise therapy/methods

OBJECTIVE: Mood disorders are a frequent problem in old age, and their symptoms constitute an important public health issue. These alterations affect the quality of life mainly by restricting social life. The participation in a regular exercise program is an effective way of reducing or preventing the functional decline associated with aging. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of fitness-endurance activity (at the intensity of Ventilatory Threshold 1 (VT-1)) in depression, anxiety and quality of life scores in seniors. METHODS: The study involved 46 sedentary seniors aged 60-75 (66.97 ± 4.80) who were randomly allocated to two groups: 1) Control group, which was neither asked to vary their everyday activities nor to join a regular physical fitness program; and 2) Experimental group, whose members took part in an aerobic fitness program consisting of ergometer cycle sessions 3 times a week on alternate days for six months working at a heart rate corresponding to ventilatory threshold (VT-1) intensity. Subjects were submitted to a basal evaluation using the geriatric depression screening scale - GDS, STAI trait/state (anxiety scale) and SF-36 (quality of life scale). RESULTS: Comparing the groups after the study period, we found a significant decrease in depressive and anxiety scores and an improvement in the quality of life in the experimental group, but no significant changes in the control group. CONCLUSION: The data suggest that an aerobic exercise program at VT-1 intensity suffices to promote favorable modifications in depressive and anxiety scores to improve the quality of life in seniors.