Gender Differences in the Association between Physical Inactivity and Mental-Health Conditions in People with Vision or Hearing Impairment

Guillermo F. López-Sánchez, Lee Smith, Rubén López-Bueno and Shahina Pardhan
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Guillermo F. López-Sánchez: Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Murcia, Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Lee Smith: Centre for Health, Performance and Wellbeing, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK
Rubén López-Bueno: Department of Physical Medicine and Nursing, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Shahina Pardhan: Centre for Health, Performance and Wellbeing, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-11

Abstract: This study aimed to examine associations between physical inactivity and mental health in Spanish adults with vision or hearing difficulties and explored differences between men and women. Data from the Spanish National Health Survey in 2017 were analyzed ( n = 23,089 adults, 15–103 years, mean age 53.4 ± 18.9 years, 45.9% men). Physical inactivity (exposure) was evaluated with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form. Participants self-reported whether they had previously suffered from depression, chronic anxiety and other mental-health complications (outcomes). Associations between physical inactivity and mental-health complications were assessed with multivariable logistic regression in people with difficulty seeing and hearing, after grouping by gender and adjusting for age, body-mass index, education level, living as a couple, smoking and alcohol consumption. The overall multivariable logistic-regression analyses showed that women with vision impairment showed significant associations between physical inactivity and depression (OR 1.403, 95% CI 1.015–1.940) and other mental-health complications (OR 2.959, 95% CI 1.434–6.104). In the overall analyses, there were no significant associations in men and in people with hearing impairment. The age-stratified analyses showed that inactive people with visual impairment who were <65 years old had a higher risk of mental-health conditions. In conclusion, physical activity has been shown to be important in the prevention of mental-health complications. Healthcare practitioners and policy makers should look at appropriate strategies to increase levels of physical activity in people with vision loss, especially in women and in those <65 years old.

Keywords: physical activity; mental health; visual impairment; hearing impairment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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