The longitudinal relations between physical activity, inflammation, and depression in the Health and Retirement Study

Andrew Levihn-Coon, Jasper AJ Smits and Christopher G Beevers

PLOS Mental Health, 2025, vol. 2, issue 4, 1-23

Abstract: Physical activity appears associated with lower depression in treatment and epidemiological studies but specific biological mechanisms remain unclear. Research supports inflammation being positively associated with depression and negatively associated with physical activity, suggesting it could mediate physical activity’s effect on depression. This study examined longitudinal associations between physical activity, inflammation, and depression symptoms in 13,461 older adults (59% women, mean age = 68) using the Health and Retirement Study dataset. Depression, physical activity, and inflammation (high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP)) were measured three times, four years apart. We used random intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPM) to test for stable between-person and within-person associations over time. Between-person results found higher physical activity was associated with lower hsCRP (β = −0.40, SE = 0.087, p

Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pmen00:0000211

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmen.0000211

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