%0 Journal Article
%T The influence of physical exercise on depressive symptoms and functional fitness in elderly residents of south Brazil
%J Revista Espanola de Geriatria y Gerontologia
%D 2010
%A Justino Borges, Lucelia
%A Bertoldo Benedetti, Tania R.
%A Zarpellon Mazo, Giovana
%V 45
%N 2
%P 72-78
%X INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of physical exercise on depressive symptoms and functional fitness in a sample of elderly people enrolled in a physical exercise program run by public sector Health Centers in Florianópolis, Brazil. METHODS: The sample comprised a total of 118 elderly people (101 women and 17 men), who had been receiving treatment for up to 1 year and 4 months and were assessed at predefined intervals, up to a maximum of five times. Evaluations were carried out using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15); International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and the physical test battery proposed by AAHPERD (American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance). RESULTS: A tendency for depression scores to reduce was observed. However, a statistically significant difference (p=0.008) was only detected among those elderly people who attended 75% or more of the treatment sessions. Analysis demonstrated that the tendency for overall mean functional fitness to increase was statistically significant (p<0.001). Inverse relationships were detected between functional fitness and depression scores at five assessment (r=-0.235, p=0.059; r=-0.206, p=0.099; r=-0.158, p=0.110; r=-0.068, p=0.565), although only one assessment had statistical significance (r=-0.226, p=0.033). CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrated a positive effect from physical exercise in reducing depressive symptoms and improving functional fitness, suggesting that there is an inverse relationship between these variables.<p /> <p>Language: es</p>
%G es
%I Elsevier Publishing
%@ 0211-139X
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.regg.2009.12.004