Associations of allostatic load with sociodemographic factors, depressive symptoms, lifestyle, and health characteristics in a large general population-based sample.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the associations between allostatic load (AL) and sociodemographic factors, depressive symptoms, lifestyle and health characteristics in a population-based sample of 4993 adults in Finland. METHODS: Thirteen biomarkers were used to construct AL. High AL was defined as scoring highly in ≥4 items. RESULTS: AL scores of 4 and above were exceeded in the age group of 45-54 years in men and 65-74 years in women. Age was the strongest predictor for belonging to the high AL score group. In addition, elevated depressive symptoms (BDI-6 ≥ 4), male sex, not engaging in physical exercise, high alcohol use and a low level of education were associated with an increased likelihood of belonging to the high AL group. CONCLUSION: The older the participants were, the greater their AL burden was. However, AL burden increased more steeply as a function of age in men. In addition to lifestyle interventions, effective prevention strategies for depression at the population level could have a major public health impact in reducing the accumulation of AL burden.

Anxiety and watching the war in Ukraine.

On 24 February 2022, Russia attacked Ukraine. Millions of people tuned into social media to watch the war. Media exposure to disasters and large-scale violence can precipitate anxiety resulting in intrusive thoughts. This research investigates factors related to anxiety while watching the war. Since the war began during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, threat from COVID-19 is seen as a predictor of anxiety when watching the war. A theoretical model is put forward where the outcome was anxiety when watching the war, and predictors were self-reported interference of watching the war with one's studies or work, gender, worry about the war, self-efficacy and coronavirus threat. Data were collected online with independent samples of university students from two European countries close to Ukraine, Germany (n = 348) and Finland (n = 228), who filled out an anonymous questionnaire. Path analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings showed that the model was an acceptable fit to the data in each sample, and standardised regression coefficients indicated that anxiety, when watching the war, increased with interference, war worry and coronavirus threat, and decreased with self-efficacy. Women reported more anxiety when watching the war than men. Implications of the results are discussed.

Mediation of cognitive interference on depression during the Russo-Ukrainian war in three national samples.

Media coverage of large-scale violence can result in interfering thoughts and depression. This research investigates the relationship between interfering thoughts and depression when watching the Russo-Ukrainian war. In the theoretical model, the more the war is watched, the more it is related to interfering thoughts, which are related to depression. With the ongoing pandemic, depression, when watching the war, was related to coronavirus threat. Data was collected online from April to June, 2022, with university students in Germany, Finland, and Canada (N = 865). Path analysis results in each sample showed that the model fit the data with sample-specific modification indices. There was full mediation of watching the war by interference on depression, indicating that it is not watching the war, per se, but rather its relationship to cognitive interference, that is associated with depression. Denial and coronavirus threat were positively related to depression. Implications for research and student support are considered.

Psychometric Properties of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory: A Review.

Neuropsychiatric symptoms cause a significant burden to individuals with neurocognitive disorders and their families. Insights into the clinical associations, neurobiology, and treatment of these symptoms depend on informant questionnaires, such as the commonly used Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). As with any scale, the utility of the NPI relies on its psychometric properties, but the NPI faces unique challenges related to its skip-question and scoring formats. In this narrative review, we examined the psychometric properties of the NPI in a framework including properties pertinent to construct validation, and health-related outcome measurement in general. We found that aspects such as test-retest and inter-rater reliability are major strengths of the NPI in addition to its flexible and relatively quick administration. These properties are desired in clinical trials. However, the reported properties appear to cover only some of the generally examined psychometric properties, representing perhaps necessary but insufficient reliability and validity evidence for the NPI. The psychometric data seem to have significant gaps, in part because small sample sizes in the relevant studies have precluded more comprehensive analyses. Regarding construct validity, only one study has examined structural validity with the NPI subquestions. Measurement error was not assessed in the reviewed studies. For future validation, we recommend using data from all subquestions, collecting larger samples, paying specific attention to construct validity and formulating hypotheses a priori. Because the NPI is an outcome measure of interest in clinical trials, examining measurement error could be of practical importance.

Comparison of the level of allostatic load between patients with major depression and the general population.

OBJECTIVE: We compared the level of allostatic load (AL) between patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and non-depressed controls using two definitions of AL: continuous AL scores (AL index) and clinically significant high AL (≥4). We examined whether MDD was associated with AL independent of basic socioeconomic (age, sex, cohabiting status and level of education) and lifestyle factors (smoking and alcohol use). METHODS: The MDD patient sample consisted of 177 psychiatric outpatients (mean age 33.7, SD 10.7 years), who were recruited from the Department of Psychiatry at Kuopio University Hospital, Finland, in 2016-19. The non-depressed controls (n = 228, mean age 49.8, SD 10.1 years) lived in the municipality of Lapinlahti, Finland. Ten biomarkers were used to construct the two AL variables. These indicators were systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, creatinine, waist circumference, body mass index (BMI) and C-reactive protein (CRP). RESULTS: The mean AL scores did not significantly differ between MDD patients (2.97) and non-depressed controls (3.12), thus it was not associated with MDD in univariate analysis. In multivariate models a higher AL index was associated with a 1.42 to 1.82 times higher likelihood of belonging to the MDD group. Furthermore, we found that high AL (i.e. AL ≥ 4) was associated with MDD, with the likelihood ranging between 2.27 and 2.96 compared with the non-depressed controls in multivariate models. CONCLUSIONS: Even young adult patients with MDD appear to display clinically significant, high AL compared with non-depressed controls. Thus, it is important to pay attention to the somatic health of depressed patients in addition to their mental health.

Does Compassion Predict Blood Pressure and Hypertension? The Modifying Role of Familial Risk for Hypertension.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated (i) whether compassion is associated with blood pressure or hypertension in adulthood and (ii) whether familial risk for hypertension modifies these associations. METHOD: The participants (N = 1112-1293) came from the prospective Young Finns Study. Parental hypertension was assessed in 1983-2007; participants' blood pressure in 2001, 2007, and 2011; hypertension in 2007 and 2011 (participants were aged 30-49 years in 2007-2011); and compassion in 2001. RESULTS: High compassion predicted lower levels of diastolic and systolic blood pressure in adulthood. Additionally, high compassion was related to lower risk for hypertension in adulthood among individuals with no familial risk for hypertension (independently of age, sex, participants' and their parents' socioeconomic factors, and participants' health behaviors). Compassion was not related to hypertension in adulthood among individuals with familial risk for hypertension. CONCLUSION: High compassion predicts lower diastolic and systolic blood pressure in adulthood. Moreover, high compassion may protect against hypertension among individuals without familial risk for hypertension. As our sample consisted of comparatively young participants, our findings provide novel implications for especially early-onset hypertension.

Type 1 long QT syndrome and psychological stress in a laboratory setting.

Trait-like sensitivity to stress in long QT syndrome patients has been documented previously. In addition, mental stress has been associated with symptomatic status of long QT syndrome. We examined whether the symptomatic type 1 long QT syndrome patients would be more sensitive to mental stress compared to asymptomatic patients and whether there would be differences in task-related physiological stress reactions between type 1 long QT syndrome patients and healthy individuals. The study population consisted of 21 symptomatic and 23 asymptomatic molecularly defined KCNQ1 mutation carriers, their 32 non-carrier relatives and 46 non-related healthy controls, with mean ages of 37, 39, 35 and 23 years, respectively. Electrocardiography was utilised to calculate inter-beat interval and high frequency and low frequency heart rate variability. Blood pressure was measured and mean arterial pressure and pulse pressure were calculated. Stress was induced using three different tasks: mental arithmetic, reaction time and public speech. Stress responses of symptomatic and asymptomatic type 1 long QT syndrome patients were not statistically different in any of the stress tasks. Short-term physiological stress reactivity of symptomatic type 1 long QT syndrome patients appears to be normal and does not enhance the risk assessment of asymptomatic mutation carriers.

Neuropsychiatric symptoms and activities of daily living in Alzheimer's disease: ALSOVA 5-year follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) are related to activities of daily living (ADLs), but longitudinal studies are sparse. OBJECTIVES: We investigated which NPSs were related to decline in instrumental ADLs (IADLs) and basic ADLs (BADLs) in a 5-year follow-up of individuals with AD. METHODS: ALSOVA 5-year follow-up study data of 236 individuals with very mild or mild AD at baseline and their caregiver were analyzed. IADLs and BADLs were assessed with Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study ADL inventory, and NPSs with Neuropsychiatric Inventory at annual follow-up visits. Generalized estimating equations (GEEs) were used for longitudinal data analysis, and NPS-ADL networks were estimated to demonstrate symptom interactions. RESULTS: Apathy [rate ratio (RR) 1.23, 95% CI 1.06-1.44, p = 0.007], aberrant motor behavior (RR 1.24, 95% CI 1.07-1.44, p = 0.005), and appetite disturbances (RR 1.22, 95% CI 1.06-1.41, p = 0.005) were related to impairment in BADLs, and the same symptoms (RR 1.13, 95% CI 1.07-1.21, p < 0.001; RR 1.13, 95% CI 1.07-1.20, p < 0.001; RR 1.14; 95% CI 1.08-1.21, p < 0.001, for apathy, aberrant motor behavior, and appetite disturbances, respectively), in addition to delusions (RR 1.09, 95% CI 1.03-1.15, p = 0.004), were related to IADL impairment. Symptom networks varied at different time points. CONCLUSION: As AD progresses, common (apathy) and uncommon NPSs (aberrant motor behavior, appetite disturbances, delusions) seem to be related to ADLs through various symptom interactions. Previous literature suggests that frontal pathology could underlie these relationships.

The relationship between anger regulation, mood, pain, and pain-related disability in women treated for breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Anger, depressive symptoms, and anxiety are known reactions to cancer and suggested to modulate pain experience. We examined the association between anger regulation, mood, and pain in 952 breast cancer patients followed for 3 years. METHODS: Preoperatively, the patients completed questionnaires about depressive symptoms (BDI), state anxiety (STAI), anger regulation (STAXI-2), and pains in the surgical and other areas. Experimental pain sensitivity was tested. In the follow-up, BDI and STAI were assessed at 1 and at 6 months and at 1, 2, and 3 years after surgery. Pain in the surgical area was evaluated during the first 7 days and at 1 and 3 years after surgery. Pain-related disability was assessed at 3 years after surgery. Latent profile analyses were performed to identify mood profiles, and regression analyses to find independent predictors for mood and pain variables. RESULTS: Anger inhibition and pain had associations with ongoing depressive symptoms and anxiety. Pain-related disability was associated with high anxiety at a hazard ratio (HR) of 2.24 (95% CI, 1.17-4.27), with older age (HR 1.07, 95% CI, 1.01-1.13), and with pain in the surgical area (HR 3.04, 95% CI, 2.41-3.85), but not with anger variables. Any relationship between anger regulation and pain intensity disappeared after controlling for age and mood. CONCLUSIONS: Different forms of pain are important to recognize and treat to support breast cancer patients' psychological well-being. Anger inhibition could be a target for psychotherapeutic intervention, to help with ongoing mood symptoms. The relationship between anger regulation and pain is not straightforward.

Role clarity, role conflict, and vitality at work: The role of the basic needs.

This study aimed to provide new information on the relationships between vitality at work and role clarity, role conflict, and psychological basic need satisfaction. Participants of the cross-sectional study were 110 employees in a preventive intervention program. Associations between the focal constructs were examined with regression and bootstrapping analyses. The results suggest that the role clarity is associated with subjective vitality at work through higher autonomy and higher competence, and that role conflict is negatively associated with subjective vitality at work through lower autonomy and lower relatedness. Additionally, an interaction between the role characteristics was observed, suggesting that the strength of the association between role clarity and competence, and the strength of the indirect association between role clarity and vitality through competence may vary depending on the level of role conflict. The findings are consistent with the notion that that managers and co-workers may affect the opportunities of individuals to achieve need satisfaction and feel energized by delineating and negotiating role-related factors at work. Need satisfaction, in turn, is an antecedent of well-being and motivation. Employees should feel able to clarify role ambiguities with their supervisor or co-workers and thus reduce the role conflicts imposed by the expectations of various stakeholders. Limitations of the study include the self-rating methodology, cross-sectional design, and properties of the sample restricting generalizability.

Physical Activity, Sleep, and Symptoms of Depression in Adults-Testing for Mediation.

PURPOSE: Physical activity, sleep problems, and symptoms of depression contribute to overall well-being. The factors are reciprocally associated, but the nature of these associations remains unclear. The present study examined whether sleep problems mediated the association between physical activity and depressive symptoms. METHODS: The eligible population (n = 3596) consisted of adults from the ongoing, population-based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study started in 1980. Participants' leisure-time physical activity was assessed with physical activity index (2007) and sleep problems with Jenkins' Sleep Questionnaire in 2007 and 2011. Depressive symptoms were measured using modified Beck Depression Inventory in 2007 and 2012, from which the items reflecting sleep problems were excluded. Mediation analyses, through which the associations between the variables were examined, were adjusted for sex and a set of health-related covariates assessed in 2007 and 2011. RESULTS: Physical activity was associated with decreased levels of sleep problems and depressive symptoms (P < 0.05). The association between physical activity and depressive symptoms (b = -0.10, P < 0.01) was partly mediated by sleep problems (proportion mediated = 0.36, P < 0.01). The adjustment for depressive symptoms at baseline attenuated the mediation effect (proportion mediated = 0.30, P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity's favorable contribution to depressive symptoms was mediated partly by sleep, but the mediation effect disappeared after adjusting for the previous depressive symptoms in adulthood.

Personality traits and perceptions of organisational justice.

This study examined the association between five-factor model personality traits and perceptions of organisational justice. The sample for the study comprised 903 participants (35-50 years old; 523 women) studied in 2007 and 2012. Measures used were the Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Five-Factor Inventory questionnaire and the short organisational justice measure. The results showed that high neuroticism was associated with low distributive, procedural and interactional justice. Furthermore, high agreeableness was associated with high procedural and interactional justice and high openness with high distributive justice. This study suggests that neuroticism, agreeableness and openness are involved in perceptions of organisational justice and that personality should be considered in research and in practices at the workplace.

Is the association between depressive symptoms and glucose bidirectional? A population-based study.

OBJECTIVE: Depressive symptoms have been associated with Type 2 diabetes, but the temporal direction of this association and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The present study examined a potential bidirectional association between depressive symptoms and glucose levels in women and men, and the factors mediating this association. METHOD: The participants were from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study, a prospective, population-based, cohort study (N = 2,534). Depressive symptoms were assessed using a modified Beck Depression Inventory. Fasting glucose was measured concurrently with depressive symptoms. To analyze the data, a multiple-group cross-lagged analysis and parallel multiple mediation in structural equation modeling were used. RESULTS: Depressive symptoms in 2001 were positively associated with glucose levels in 2012 in women (ß = .07, p = .023) but not in men (ß = -.03, p = .45). This sex difference was statistically significant (p = .042). Glucose levels in 2001 did not predict depressive symptoms in 2012 in either women or men (ps = .96). Changes in body mass index, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, alcohol consumption, or tobacco or cigarette smoking did not mediate the observed association (ps > .05). CONCLUSIONS: The results showed a positive association between depressive symptoms and glucose levels in women but not in men. The direction of this relationship seems to be from depressive symptoms to glucose levels rather than the reverse. Changes in body fat, inflammation, alcohol consumption, or tobacco or cigarette smoking may not play a mediating role in this observed association. (PsycINFO Database Record

Personality traits and career choices among physicians in Finland: employment sector, clinical patient contact, specialty and change of specialty.

BACKGROUND: Personality influences an individual's adaptation to a specific job or organization. Little is known about personality trait differences between medical career and specialty choices after graduating from medical school when actually practicing different medical specialties. Moreover, whether personality traits contribute to important career choices such as choosing to work in the private or public sector or with clinical patient contact, as well as change of specialty, have remained largely unexplored. In a nationally representative sample of Finnish physicians (N = 2837) we examined how personality traits are associated with medical career choices after graduating from medical school, in terms of employment sector, patient contact, medical specialty and change of specialty. METHODS: Personality was assessed using the shortened version of the Big Five Inventory (S-BFI). An analysis of covariance with posthoc tests for pairwise comparisons was conducted, adjusted for gender and age with confounders (employment sector, clinical patient contact and medical specialty). RESULTS: Higher openness was associated with working in the private sector, specializing in psychiatry, changing specialty and not practicing with patients. Lower openness was associated with a high amount of patient contact and specializing in general practice as well as ophthalmology and otorhinolaryngology. Higher conscientiousness was associated with a high amount of patient contact and specializing in surgery and other internal medicine specialties. Lower conscientiousness was associated with specializing in psychiatry and hospital service specialties. Higher agreeableness was associated with working in the private sector and specializing in general practice and occupational health. Lower agreeableness and neuroticism were associated with specializing in surgery. Higher extraversion was associated with specializing in pediatrics and change of specialty. Lower extraversion was associated with not practicing with patients. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed distinctive personality traits to be associated with physicians' career and specialty choices after medical school independent of known confounding factors. Openness was the most consistent personality trait associated with physicians' career choices in terms of employment sector, amount of clinical patient contact, specialty choice and change of specialty. Personality-conscious medical career counseling and career guidance during and after medical education might enhance the person-job fit among physicians.

Fasting Glucose and the Risk of Depressive Symptoms: Instrumental-Variable Regression in the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study.

PURPOSE: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has been associated with depressive symptoms, but the causal direction of this association and the underlying mechanisms, such as increased glucose levels, remain unclear. We used instrumental-variable regression with a genetic instrument (Mendelian randomization) to examine a causal role of increased glucose concentrations in the development of depressive symptoms. METHOD: Data were from the population-based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (n = 1217). Depressive symptoms were assessed in 2012 using a modified Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-I). Fasting glucose was measured concurrently with depressive symptoms. A genetic risk score for fasting glucose (with 35 single nucleotide polymorphisms) was used as an instrumental variable for glucose. RESULTS: Glucose was not associated with depressive symptoms in the standard linear regression (B = -0.04, 95% CI [-0.12, 0.04], p = .34), but the instrumental-variable regression showed an inverse association between glucose and depressive symptoms (B = -0.43, 95% CI [-0.79, -0.07], p = .020). The difference between the estimates of standard linear regression and instrumental-variable regression was significant (p = .026) CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the association between T2D and depressive symptoms is unlikely to be caused by increased glucose concentrations. It seems possible that T2D might be linked to depressive symptoms due to low glucose levels.

Organisational justice protects against the negative effect of workplace violence on teachers' sleep: a longitudinal cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the longitudinal association of workplace violence with disturbed sleep and the moderating role of organisational justice (ie, the extent to which employees are treated with fairness) in teaching. METHODS: We identified 4988 teachers participating in the Finnish Public Sector study who reported encountering violence at work. Disturbed sleep was measured in three waves with 2-year intervals: the wave preceding exposure to violence, the wave of exposure and the wave following the exposure. Data on procedural and interactional justice were obtained from the wave of exposure to violence. The associations were examined using repeated measures log-binomial regression analysis with the generalised estimating equations method, adjusting for gender and age. RESULTS: Exposure to violence was associated with an increase in disturbed sleep (RR 1.32 (95% CI 1.15 to 1.52)) that also persisted after the exposure (RR 1.26 (95% CI 1.07 to 1.48)). The increase was higher among teachers perceiving the managerial practices as relatively unfair (RR 1.46 (95% CI 1.01 to 2.09) and RR 1.59 (95% CI 1.04 to 2.42) for interactional and procedural justice, respectively). By contrast, working in high-justice conditions seemed to protect teachers from the negative effect of violence on sleep. CONCLUSION: Our findings show an increase in sleep disturbances due to exposure to workplace violence in teaching. However, the extent to which teachers are treated with justice moderates this association. Although preventive measures for violence should be prioritised, resources aimed at promoting justice at schools can mitigate sleep problems associated with workplace violence.

Parental Physical Activity Associates With Offspring's Physical Activity Until Middle Age: A 30-Year Study.

BACKGROUND: Parents' physical activity associates with their children's physical activity. Prospective designs assessing this association are rare. This study examined how parents' physical activity was associated with their children's physical activity from childhood to middle adulthood in a 30-year prospective, population-based setting. METHODS: Participants (n = 3596) were from the ongoing Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study started in 1980. Participants' physical activity was self-reported at 8 phases from 1980 to 2011, and their parents' physical activity at 1980. Analyses were adjusted for a set of health-related covariates assessed from 1980 to 2007. RESULTS: High levels of mothers' and fathers' physical activity were systematically associated with increased levels of their children's physical activity until offspring's age of 24. Longitudinal analyses conducted from 1980 to 2011 showed that higher levels of parents' physical activity were associated with increased levels of physical activity within their offspring until midlife, but the association between parents' and their children's physical activity weakened when participants aged (P < .05). Covariate adjustment did not attenuate the association. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that parents' physical activity assessed in their offspring's childhood contributes favorably to offspring's physical activity from childhood to middle age.

Is Symptomatic Long QT Syndrome Associated with Depression in Women and Men?

We examined whether long QT syndrome (LQTS) mutation carrier status or symptomatic LQTS are associated with depression, and whether there are sex differences in these potential relationships. The sample comprised 782 participants (252 men). Of the 369 genetically defined LQTS mutation carriers, 169 were symptomatic and 200 were asymptomatic. The control group consisted of 413 unaffected relatives. Depression was assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). No association was found for LQTS mutation carrier status with depression. The multinomial logistic regression showed that LQTS mutation carrier men with arrhythmic events scored higher on depression compared with the control group, even when adjusting for age, ß-blockers, antidepressants, and social support (OR = 1.09, 95 % CI [1.02, 1.15], p = .007). The binary logistic regression comparing symptomatic and asymptomatic LQTS mutation carriers showed that symptomatic LQTS was associated with depression in men (OR = 1.10, 95 % CI [1.03, 1.19], p = .009). The results were unchanged when additionally adjusted for education. These findings suggest that symptomatic LQTS is associated with depression in men but not in women. Overall, however, depression is more frequent in women than men. Thus, regular screening for depression in LQTS mutation carriers and their unaffected family members can be important.

Does Childhood Temperamental Activity Predict Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior over a 30-Year Period? Evidence from the Young Finns Study.

PURPOSE: We examined associations between childhood temperamental activity, physical activity (PA), and television (TV) viewing over a 30-year period. METHOD: The participants (1220 boys and 1237 girls) were aged 3, 6, 9, and 12 years in 1980 and were followed until 2011. Temperamental activity was evaluated by participants' mothers at baseline. The PA was assessed based on maternal ratings of the child from ages 3 to 6 and via self-report age from the age of 9 across all measurements. TV viewing was assessed using self-reports taken from 2001 to 2011. The associations between temperamental activity and the level and change of PA and TV viewing were determined using linear growth modeling stratified by gender and age group. RESULTS: High temperamental activity assessed from ages 9 to 12 was associated with high levels of childhood PA in both genders, but with a steeper decline in PA levels during the first 9 years of follow-up in boys. High temperamental activity assessed from ages 3 to 6 was associated with the decline of PA from childhood to youth in girls. High childhood temperamental activity was associated with decreased levels of PA in adulthood in men, but not in women. The associations between childhood temperamental activity and TV viewing during adulthood seemed to be positive but not consistently significant in all age and gender groups. CONCLUSION: High temperamental activity may contribute to the development of a physically inactive lifestyle. More evidence is needed with regard to gender differences among participants in similar study settings.

Trajectories of Physical Activity Predict the Onset of Depressive Symptoms but Not Their Progression: A Prospective Cohort Study.

This prospective, community-based study examined trajectories of physical activity from childhood to adulthood and whether these trajectories contributed to depressive symptoms in adulthood to a greater degree than adulthood physical activity. Participants (n = 3596) were from the ongoing Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study which started in 1980. Depressive symptoms were measured with Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) in 2012, and physical activity was assessed from 1980 to 2011 with self-reports. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, childhood negative emotionality, socioeconomic factors, previous depressive symptoms, social support, body mass index, and smoking status (1980-2007). Highly, moderately, and lightly physically active trajectory groups were identified. Highly active participants reported lower levels of depressive symptoms compared to lightly active ones (p < 0.001) and compared to moderately active ones (p = 0.001). Moderately active participants had less symptoms than lightly active ones (p < 0.001). High levels of adulthood physical activity associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms (p < 0.001). The findings did not withstand adjustment for previous depressive symptoms (p > 0.05). Lifelong physical activity trajectories or adulthood physical activity was not associated with the progression of depressive symptoms in adulthood. Thus, physical activity history does not contribute to the progression of the depressive symptoms to a greater degree than adulthood physical activity.