TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2013//
TI  - Personality, physical activity, and symptoms of anxiety and depression: the HUNT study
JO  - Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology
A1  - Brunes, Audun
A1  - Augestad, Liv Berit
A1  - Gudmundsdottir, Sigridur Lara
SP  - 745
EP  - 756
VL  - 48
IS  - 5
N2  - 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.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0933-7954
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00127-012-0594-6
ID  - ref1
ER  -