The impact of exercise on depressive symptoms in older Hispanic/Latino adults: results from the ‘¡Caminemos!’ study

OBJECTIVES: We examined the prospective effects of an evidence-based exercise intervention on depressive symptoms in older Hispanics/Latinos and the potential synergistic effects (if any) of an attribution-retraining component to counter negative ascriptions to the aging process. METHOD: We analyzed baseline, 1-, 12-, 24-month data collected from Hispanics/Latinos ≥ 60 years participating in an exercise intervention ("¡Caminemos!") across 27 senior centers (N = 572). All participants were given 4 weekly 1-hour group-based exercise classes targeting strength training, endurance, balance and flexibility. In addition, they were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: a) treatment group-a 1-hour attribution retraining session where participants were taught that aging does not mean one inevitably becomes sedentary, or b) control group-generic health education. The Geriatric Depression Scale was used to assess depressive symptoms. Covariates included age, sex, education, income, marital status, acculturation, and number of chronic conditions. RESULTS: In prospective analyses, participants in both trial arms displayed lower scores for depressive symptoms at 12- (β1 = -0.17, p = 0.04) and 24-months (β2 = -0.33, p < 0.001) when compared to baseline values. CONCLUSION: Given expected growth of the older Hispanic/Latino adult population, exercise programs are a promising strategy in promoting favorable mental health.