The Association between Estimated Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Mental Health in Older Adults

OBJECTIVE:This study examined the association between estimated cardiorespiratory fitness (eCRF) and mental health in Korean older adults.The present study was carried out using data from the 2008 Living Profiles of Older People Survey. METHODS:A total of 13,333 participants aged 60 years and older (57% women) completed the assessments (i.e., socioeconomic status, health behaviors and conditions, and mental health status) and were included for the final analyses.eCRF was assessed with sexspecific algorithms and classified as lower (lowest 25%), middle (middle 50%), and upper (highest 25%) categories.Korean version of Mini-Mental State Examine and short-form Geriatric Depression Scale were used to assess depressive symptoms and impaired cognition, respectively.Logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for depressive symptoms and impaired cognition according to eCRF categories. RESULTS:In the total study samples, the risk of having depressive symptoms was 24% lower for the middle eCRF group (OR, 0.76; CI, 0.69-0.84)and 49% lower for the upper eCRF group (OR, 0.51; CI, 0.45-0.59)compared with the lower eCRF group (reference, OR =1) and remained statistically significant even after adjustments for all the covariates included in this study.The risk of having impaired cognition was 18% lower for the middle eCRF group (OR, 0.82; CI, 0.74-0.91)and 26% lower for the upper eCRF group (OR, 0.74; CI, 0.66-0.84)compared with the lower eCRF group (OR=1) and remained statistically even after adjustments for all the covariates. CONCLUSIONS:The current findings of the study suggest that eCRF may have an independent predictor of both depressive symptoms and impaired cognition in this Korean older adults, underscoring the importance of promoting physical fitness via regular exercise to maintain good mental health later in life.