ArticleQuality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation2017
Prospective associations of exercise and depressive symptoms in older adults: the role of apolipoprotein E4.
Article in Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Isotemporal substitution from sedentary behavior or sleep to physical activity: associations with depression risk in older adults-a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Physical activity and mental health: a systematic review and best-evidence synthesis of mediation and moderation studies.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2024Pooled it
- The influence of a 16-week exercise program, APOE status, and age on executive function task performance: A randomized trial.Experimental gerontology · 2021Trial
- Gene-Physical Activity Interplay in Depression: Candidate-Gene Interactions, Polygenic Susceptibility, Lifestyle Context, and Mendelian Randomization Evidence-Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Substance use moderates relationships between apolipoprotein E genotype, hepatitis C, cognition, and depression in Miami Adult Studies on HIV (MASH) participants.Journal of neurovirology · 2024Article
- Physical inactivity links depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning among individuals with Parkinson's disease.Neuropsychology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeExercise is associated with reduced risk of depressive symptoms at older ages, while recent work suggests that the apolipoprotein E type 4 allele (APOE-e4) may increase risk. There are no studies of whether APOE-e4 moderates the relationship between exercise and later life depressive symptoms. This study aimed to explore whether the prospective associations between exercise and subsequent depressive symptoms were distinct between APOE-e4 carriers and non-carriers using nationwide data.
methodsData from 639 participants (mean age = 66.14, SD = 7.26) in 2000 with 6 years of follow-up were studied. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale. Exercise and the APOE genotype were also assessed at baseline. Negative binomial regression models were conducted to examine the combined effects of exercise and APOE-e4 status on subsequent depressive symptoms when controlling for baseline depressive symptoms and other covariates. Sensitivity analyses to test for confounding, reverse causality, and attrition were conducted.
resultsAmong APOE-e4 carriers, there was no significant difference in depressive symptoms between high active and low active groups. In contrast, high active APOE-e4 non-carriers had fewer depressive symptoms than low active APOE-e4 non-carriers. The beneficial effect of exercise on depressive symptoms is restricted to APOE-e4 non-carriers. Sensitivity analyses provided further support for the robustness of these findings.
conclusionsThis is the first prospective study investigating whether APOE-e4 moderates the association between exercise and depressive symptoms. It proposes that genetic variation in APOE may influence the effect of exercise on depressive symptoms.
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