10.3390/polym8030084

Vollständiger Abstract

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<b>Background/Objectives:</b> Late-life depression is associated with reduced physical activity, but evidence is limited regarding objectively measured weekday walking volume and cadence distribution in older women with clinician-diagnosed major depressive disorder (MDD). This exploratory study compared daily walking between an MDD group and an age-comparable comparison group and examined the post hoc within-sample discrimination of two cadence-based ratios. <b>Methods:</b> Forty women aged 60-93 years (mean age, 71.8 ± 9.7 years) were classified into an MDD group (<i>n</i> = 20) and an age-comparable comparison group without a documented depressive-disorder diagnosis (<i>n</i> = 20). Current depressive symptoms were quantified using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and free-living ambulatory activity was measured over three weekdays using StepWatch 3 monitors. Total instrumented-leg steps were recalculated as the sum of the low-, intermediate-, and higher-cadence step counts from the same three weekday summaries. The feasibility-based sample was analyzed using an exploratory MANOVA with SPSS-based assumption checks, Holm-adjusted follow-up tests, partial eta-squared effect sizes, and post hoc exploratory ROC analyses. <b>Results:</b> The multivariate group difference was significant (Pillai's trace = 0.407, F (8,31) = 2.656, <i>p</i> = 0.024, partial η 2 = 0.407). After Holm adjustment, the MDD group demonstrated lower total instrumented-leg steps, fewer intermediate- and higher-cadence walking minutes, fewer intermediate-cadence instrumented-leg steps, and a lower Peak Activity Index; the higher-cadence step-count difference did not remain significant after multiplicity adjustment. The Intermediate + Higher-Cadence Step Ratio showed an AUC of 0.828 (95% CI: 0.701-0.954), and the Intermediate + Higher-Cadence Minutes Ratio showed an AUC of 0.818 (95% CI: 0.684-0.951). <b>Conclusions:</b> In this exploratory cross-sectional sample, lower weekday walking volume and less walking at intermediate and higher cadences were observed in the MDD group. These sample-derived discriminatory findings are not diagnostic and require independent validation.

Abstract: PubMed · Datensatz