Abstract Regular exercise, anxiety, depression and personality A population-based study.pdf

(2006) 273–279 /locate/ypmedPreventive Medicine 42Regular exercise, anxiety, depression and personality: A population-based study M.H.M. De Moor ?, A.L. Beem, J.H. Stubbe, D.I. Boomsma, E.J.C. De Geus Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, van der Boechorststraat 1, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Available online 24 January 2006Abstract Objectives. To examine whether regular exercise is associated with anxiety, depression and personality in a large population-based sample as a function of gender and age. Methods. The sample consisted of adolescent and adult twins and their families (N = 19,288) who participated in the study on lifestyle and health from The Netherlands Twin Registry (1991–2002). Exercise participation, anxiety, depression and personality were assessed with self- report questionnaires. Results.The overall prevalence of exercise participation (with a minimum of 60 min weekly at 4 METs (Metabolic Energy Expenditure Index)) in our sample was 51.4%. Exercise participation strongly declined with age from about 70% in young adolescents to 30% in older adults. Among adolescents, males exercised more, whereas, among older adults, females exercised more. Exercisers were on average less anxious (?0.18 SD), depressed (?0.29 SD) and neurotic (?0.14 SD), more extraverted (+0.32 SD) and were higher in dimensions of sensation seeking (from +0.25 SD to +0.47 SD) than non-exercisers. These differences were modest in size, but very consistent across gender and age. Conclusions. This study corroborates and extends previous findings: regular exercise is cross-sectionally associated with lower neuroticism, anxiety and depression and higher extraversion and sensation seeking in the population. ? 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Keywords: Exercise; Mental health; PersonalityThe relationship between exercise behavior and mental health has been examined by many researchers (Byrne and Byrne, 1993; Folkins and Sime, 1981; Gauvin and Spence, 1996; No