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Personality, physical activity, and symptoms of anxiety and depression: the HUNT study

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Abstract

Purpose

To analyze the association between physical activity (PA), symptoms of depression and anxiety, and personality traits.

Methods

Cross-sectional study from a Norwegian population-based survey conducted in the period 2006–2008. The sample consisted of a total of 38,743 subjects aged ≥19 years, 56.1 % women and 43.9 % men. Demographic variables, PA, depression and anxiety (The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), and personality (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire) were assessed by self-reporting measurements.

Results

Individuals who reported moderate and high PA had significantly lower scores on depression and anxiety compared with less physically active individuals (p < 0.05). Significantly lower risk of HADS-defined depression and anxiety was associated with frequency, duration, and intensity of activity among women (p < 0.05), and significantly lower risk of HADS-defined depression was associated with frequency, duration, and intensity of activity among men (p < 0.05). There was a significant linear trend between extroversion and levels of PA (p < 0.01) and between neuroticism and PA (p < 0.01).

Conclusions

Subjects reporting regular leisure-time PA were less likely to report symptoms of HADS-defined depression and anxiety. Personality may be an underlying factor in explaining this association.

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Acknowledgments

The Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (Helseundersøkelsen i Nord-Trøndelag, HUNT) is the result of collaboration between the HUNT Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, and Nord-Trøndelag County Council.

Ethics

The study was approved by the Regional Committee for Ethics in Medical Research and the National Data Inspectorate.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Social Sciences and Technology Management, Department of Human Movement Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Audun Brunes, Liv Berit Augestad & Sigridur Lara Gudmundsdottir

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  1. Audun Brunes
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  2. Liv Berit Augestad
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  3. Sigridur Lara Gudmundsdottir
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Correspondence to Liv Berit Augestad.

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Brunes, A., Augestad, L.B. & Gudmundsdottir, S.L. Personality, physical activity, and symptoms of anxiety and depression: the HUNT study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 48, 745–756 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-012-0594-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-012-0594-6

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