Relationship between physical activity and depressive symptoms in stroke survivors: a cross-sectional study of 1,140 individuals

To investigate the relationship between physical activity and depressive symptoms in stroke survivors. A cross-sectional study utilizing National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2018 data, employing propensity score matching to control for confounders. 1,140 stroke survivors from NHANES, assessing depressive symptoms through the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) conducted via family interview or a mobile examination centre examination. PA was surveyed concurrently with the PHQ-9, categorized into vigorous, moderate, and moderate-to-vigorous intensities. Propensity score matching was used to match participants based on their activity levels, and the relationship between physical activity and depressive symptoms was analysed by logistic regression. Among all the subjects, 225 individuals had significant depressive symptoms. If vigorous-intensity PA duration is longer than 75 min (odds ratio [OR] = 0.41, 95% CI 0.21-0.75) or longer than 150 min (OR = 0.42, 95% CI 0.19-0.85), and moderate-intensity physical activity duration is longer than 150 min (OR = 0.59, 95% CI 0.38-0.90) or between 150 and 300 min (OR = 0.36, 95% CI 0.15-0.77), and moderate-to-vigorous PA duration is greater than 150 min (OR = 0.61, 95% CI 0.40-0.91) or exceeding 300 min (OR = 0.50, 95% CI 0.31-0.78), this might be associated with lower depressive symptoms. Regular physical activity, particularly of moderate or higher intensity, is associated with milder depressive symptoms in stroke survivors, suggesting the potential for non-pharmacological intervention.