Physical activity and psychosocial profiles associated with mental health risk in community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional study

Introduction Physical activity (PA) is widely studied in relation to mental health in older adults, yet the psychosocial factors that co-occur remain underexplored. This study explores associations between psychosocial profiles, PA levels, and screening-based mental health risk categories in community-dwelling older adults. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study of 372 participants (mean age = 68.4 ± 7.2 years) assessed 34 variables across six domains to create comprehensive psychosocial profiles. Mental health risk was categorized into four levels based on depression and stress screening tools. Ordinal logistic regression examined associations between PA levels and mental health risk categories. Results Mental health risk prevalence was 52% (95% CI: 46.4%–57.6%). Higher PA levels were associated with lower odds of higher mental health risk categories across age groups. Resilience and sense of coherence scores were higher among participants reporting moderate (vs. low) PA, whereas depressive symptom scores differed between low and high PA groups. Among the oldest-old individuals (≥85 years) the highest proportion of risk was observed in the low-PA group. Conclusion The observed patterns suggest that PA, psychosocial factors, and mental health risk are interrelated and may vary by individual profile. These findings may inform hypothesis generation and the design of future longitudinal and intervention studies examining whether psychosocial profiling helps refine PA recommendations in routine care.