Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42307664›Full record

ArticleEuropean archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience2026

Association between questionnaire-based and accelerometer-based physical activity and the incidence of psychiatric disorders in people with loneliness or social isolation: findings from the UK Biobank.

Beining Jin, Xingyuan Zhang, Tiange Yan, Ming Yao, Jingrui Fei, Yinshuang Zheng, Hailong Yang, Hongliang Li

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Article in European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

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8 authors.

Beining Jin *State Key Laboratory of New Drug Discovery and Development for Major Diseases, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, 34100, China.
Xingyuan Zhang *State Key Laboratory of New Drug Discovery and Development for Major Diseases, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, 34100, China.
Tiange Yan *State Key Laboratory of New Drug Discovery and Development for Major Diseases, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, 34100, China.
Ming YaoState Key Laboratory of New Drug Discovery and Development for Major Diseases, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, 34100, China.
Jingrui FeiState Key Laboratory of New Drug Discovery and Development for Major Diseases, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, 34100, China.
Yinshuang ZhengState Key Laboratory of New Drug Discovery and Development for Major Diseases, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, 34100, China.
Hailong YangState Key Laboratory of New Drug Discovery and Development for Major Diseases, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, 34100, China. yanghl@gmu.edu.cn.
Hongliang LiState Key Laboratory of New Drug Discovery and Development for Major Diseases, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, 34100, China. lihl@gimi.ac.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPhysical activity (PA) has been associated with a lower risk of psychiatric disorders; however, it remains unclear whether a similar association exists for individuals experiencing social isolation or loneliness.

methodsThis study analyzed two cohorts, including the questionnaire-based PA cohort and the accelerometer-based PA cohort. Social isolation and loneliness were assessed using self-reported questionnaires. PA was assessed by questionnaire and accelerometer and was categorized into light-intensity, moderate-intensity, and vigorous-intensity PA (LPA, MPA, VPA) and total PA. The questionnaire-based cohort included 12,072 lonely participants and 26,037 socially isolated participants at baseline, all without prior psychiatric disorders. The accelerometer-based cohort included 2,462 lonely and 5,516 socially isolated participants. Psychiatric disorders were identified from hospital inpatient records, primary care data, self-reported medical conditions, and death registers. Cox proportional hazard models were employed to assess the associations.

resultsIn the questionnaire-based cohort, 2,609 (21.6%) of lonely individuals and 4,761 (18.3%) of socially isolated individuals developed psychiatric disorders during a median follow-up of 13 years. After full adjustment, higher levels of VPA were associated with a lower risk of psychiatric disorders in both lonely participants (HR: 0.856; 95% CI: 0.791, 0.926) and in socially isolated participants (HR: 0.916; 95% CI: 0.863, 0.972). Higher VPA levels were also associated with a lower risk of depression in both groups and anxiety in lonely participants alone. In the accelerometer-based cohort, 241 (10.8%) lonely individuals and 472 (8.5%) socially isolated individuals developed a psychiatric disorder during 7.9 years of follow-up. After full adjustment, higher VPA levels were associated with a lower risk of psychiatric disorders in lonely participants(HR: 0.704; 95% CI: 0.535, 0.927) and socially isolated participants (HR: 0.749; 95% CI: 0.616, 0.910). These associations are robust in a series of subgroups and sensitivity analyses.

conclusionThis study suggests that higher levels of VPA are associated with a lower risk of psychiatric disorders among individuals experiencing loneliness or social isolation. This evidence supports the potential of VPA as a viable intervention to alleviate the psychiatric impacts of social isolation and loneliness.

Indexed as

ExerciseLonelinessMental DisordersSocial IsolationAccelerometryAdultAgedCohort StudiesFemaleHumansIncidenceMaleMiddle AgedSurveys and QuestionnairesUnited KingdomAccelerometerLonelinessPhysical activityPsychiatric disorderQuestionnaireSocial isolation

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PMID42307664

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.