Association of psychosocial factors with physical activity among Japanese adults aged 65 and older: a 6-year repeated cross-sectional study from the Nakanojo Study

Background Physical activity (PA) provides substantial mental and physical health benefits for individuals of all ages. A limited number of long-term or longitudinal studies have investigated the association between psychosocial factors and PA in healthy older adults aged 65 and above. This study aimed to determine the long-term relationship between psychosocial factors, such as vitality, mental health, anxiety, and depression, and objectively measure PA in older adults. Methods Healthy participants from Nakanojo, Japan, aged 65–90, capable of walking, were included in this study and were followed up from 2008 to 2013. Those diagnosed with dementia and depression were excluded. Using a repeated cross-sectional dataset, a multilevel model was developed with psychosocial variables as independent variables and an average daily duration of PA volume of > 3 metabolic equivalents (METs) as the outcome. The Akaike information criterion was used to select the final model. Results This study included 1108 records from 319 participants. In the multilevel model, age (coefficient = -0.106, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.127 to -0.086, p < 0.001) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale depression scores (coefficient = -0.019, 95% CI = -0.036 to -0.002, p = 0.026) were negatively associated with the duration of PA volume > 3 METs, whereas male sex (coefficient = 0.343, 95% CI = 0.115 to 0.571, p = 0.003) was positively associated with PA volume. Conclusion Depressive symptoms were related to a reduced duration of PA volume of > 3 METs among these adults aged 65 and above.