Exercising alone was associated with a 22% higher prevalence of poor mental health among men compared to non-exercisers, while women showed a significant association with group exercise.
Cross-Sectional (n=9,155)
No
Does the pattern and frequency of exercise (alone vs. group) associate with physical and mental health in community-dwelling older Japanese adults?
Exercise patterns are cross-sectionally associated with mental health in a gender-specific manner among older adults, with exercising alone benefiting men and group exercise benefiting women.
Effect estimate: APR 1.22 (95% CI 1.07-1.39)
Absolute Event Rate: 22.6% vs 28.4%
p-value: p=<0.001
All exercise patterns were cross-sectionally associated with physical health across genders. However, mental health outcomes varied: Cross-sectional associations with mental health were observed for men when exercising alone, and for women when exercising in groups. These results highlight the importance of gender-sensitive public health strategies, such as tailored community exercise programs. Due to the cross-sectional design, causality cannot be determined. However, the results do suggest that future longitudinal research is needed.
Tomioka et al. (Thu,) conducted a cross-sectional in Physical and mental health (n=9,155). Exercising alone for men and group exercise for women vs. Non-exercisers was evaluated on Poor mental health prevalence (APR 1.22, 95% CI 1.07-1.39, p=<0.001). Exercising alone was associated with a 22% higher prevalence of poor mental health among men compared to non-exercisers, while women showed a significant association with group exercise.