Exercise, quality of life and depression in elderly of Huelva

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between physical condition level, quality of life related to health and the degree of depression of a sample of people over 60 years old that engage physical activity in social centers of Huelva. A total of 66 elderly people aged between 60 and 87 years with an average age of 69.71 (SD=6.1) was evaluated. Of these, 80.3% were women (n=53) and 19.7% male (n=13). The results indicate that strength has a very significant correlation with Physical Role, Physical Component, Social Function, General Health, Emotional Role and Vitality (p<.005) and a significant correlation with Body Pain and Mental Component (p<.05). Statistically significant differences are observed between strength and normal and severe depression categories (F(2)=4.286; p=.018). Relevant conclusions of the investigation found that strength is the only physical quality that correlates with the two major components of health related quality of life, Physical Component (PCS) and Mental Component (MCS); and elderly people with severe depression levels have lower strength values than older people without depression.