ArticleFrontiers in public health2026
Associations between physical exercise and aging anxiety among older adults: a serial statistical mediation analysis involving self-efficacy and health anxiety.
Article in Frontiers in public health, 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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Abstract
Background: With the acceleration of global population aging, mental health issues among older adults have become increasingly prominent. Aging anxiety, defined as apprehension regarding the aging process and associated physiological, psychological, and social role losses, significantly impacts the quality of life and health of the older adults. Physical exercise has been shown to be associated with better physical and mental health of older adults, yet the theoretical psychological mechanisms underlying their association remain insufficiently clarified. Therefore, this study aims to construct and test a serial mediation model to explore the statistical sequential indirect associations linking physical exercise to aging anxiety via self-efficacy and health anxiety. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional survey design, targeting Chinese adults aged 60 and above. A total of 721 valid questionnaires were collected. Data were gathered using the *Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3)*, the Aging Anxiety Scale, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Health Anxiety Scale. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 27.0 and PROCESS 4.0 software. Common method bias tests, correlation analyses, multiple linear regression, and Bootstrap mediation effect tests were conducted to examine the relationships among physical exercise, self-efficacy, health anxiety, and aging anxiety, as well as the mediating pathways. Results: Correlation analysis revealed that physical exercise was significantly negatively correlated with aging anxiety ( Conclusion: This study supports that physical exercise is not only directly associated with lower aging anxiety in older adults but also shows significant statistical indirect associations through a potential serial pathway involving self-efficacy and health anxiety. Self-efficacy, as a crucial psychological resource, exhibits the strongest statistical indirect effect between physical exercise and aging anxiety. The findings deepen the understanding of the statistical association patterns through which physical exercise is linked to better mental health in older adults. They provide a theoretical basis and practical reference for designing targeted exercise interventions to mitigate aging anxiety among the older adults.
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