"Depression, Aging, and Exercise"
Article on Effects of Depression
by Mike Nystrom
Depression can occur in all people and is a very serious problem. This is a problem that can grow with age. Everyone can feel a sense or sorrow and sadness, especially when they lose someone or something close to them, but depression is more than that. Depression is a medical condition that typically requires treatment for a speedy recovery. “It is a serious medical illness. It is the result of chemical imbalances in the brain. The sufferer feels extremely sad, dejected and unmotivated.” (1) Depression is quite common, occurring in nearly one of every six people however, only around 20 percent of people are correctly diagnosed. (1)
It is difficult to correctly identify someone suffering depression because of the tendency for depression to resemble any number of other physical illnesses. This makes proper treatment tricky to attain, causing many people to suffer the negative effects for much longer than they actually need to. In a very old person this can lead to complete dependence on others and even death.
“The increase in life expectancy in the 20th century has resulted in a major increase in the prevalence of age-dependent diseases and conditions, such as depression.” (2) This new prolonged life is causing the elderly to be exposed to extreme age and the diseases that come along with it. “Depression in the elderly is now a predominant health care problem and is the most common psychiatric disease in the elderly.” (4) Between 10-35 percent of elderly people both in the community and in hospital settings experience at least mild symptoms of depression. This depression is a direct result of psychosocial stress or physiological stress from disease. A range of different effects of the depression can occur including: disability, cognitive impairments, increases symptoms of medical illness, increased utilization of medical resources, and increased suicide. (4)
All of these symptoms and issues are compounded even further when they go untreated which happens often, but not only because of misdiagnoses. The elderly regularly neglect to report their feelings or even worse, hide them, because they concede in their own minds that a lowered sense of self and decreased mood is an inevitable fact of aging. This is a thought that needs to be avoided, and doctors prescribe numerous lifestyle changes in order to accomplish this goal. The list includes dietary changes, nutritional supplements, involvement in social activities, and especially exercise. (2)
“Regular exercise can be an effective way to treat some forms of depression. Physical activity alters brain chemistry and leads to feelings of wellbeing.” (3) Exercise is also thought to be helpful in combating anxiety, and has been thought to be nearly as effective for rejecting depression as some successful forms of medication. Exercise also helps to alleviate the increased risk of heart attacks in older individuals.
Older people exercise less to begin with and depression only compounds that fact. “On average, depressed people only exercise about half as much as people who aren't depressed. This lack of cardiovascular fitness puts a depressed person at an increased risk of heart attack.” (3) Depression also works against exercise in an exponential manner. Depression increases the chances of a sedentary lifestyle and a sedentary lifestyle increases the chance of depression, therefore the risks of heart attack and cardiovascular problems in the elderly are only compounded further by these supplementary effects of being depressed and sedentary.
Exercise can not only help the body fight depression psychologically, but chemically in the brain as well. Seretonin is a chemical that contributes to the control of numerous cycles in the body including sleep and waking, appetite, libido, and mood. (3) Seretonin has been linked directly to depression and exercise. Physical activity and the increase in fitness that results is known to alter the levels of Seretonin in the brain and increase the general feeling of well being. Increased physical activity also increases body temperature, which is particularly difficult to maintain in the elderly, and this increased temperature is also thought to ease depression by influencing the brain chemicals. (3) Physical activity burns up stress chemicals, like adrenaline, which promotes a more relaxed state of mind that becomes increasingly difficult for an older anxious individual to achieve. (3)
Both drug therapy and exercise help to fight depression in the elderly. While they both work separately they are even more effective together as seen in a study completed by the organization Better Health. Three groups of elderly men and women were monitored over 16 weeks. One group took anti-depressant medication, another engaged in an exercise program, and the third group took part in both. In all three groups over 60 percent of the subjects were no longer classified as chemically depressed after the treatment. The margin of difference between those who only took medication and those who only exercised was a mere five percent, which solidified the use of exercise as a quality treatment in my mind. (3)
Depression is a prevalent disease in the elderly and is a very important precursor to both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. (4) Diagnoses is extremely important so that treatment can begin. The elderly are not able to fight off illness they way they were when they were younger, and while depression does not occur at a higher rate in your average older person, it does increase dramatically in those that live in isolated situations or in nursing homes. (2) Those are the people that need to be monitored closely especially from afar in the case that they may be hiding their symptoms because of their belief that their feelings of lowliness and despair are only setting in naturally with age. An exercise program in elderly individuals can be critical to preventing depression from setting in initially, for treating depression if it does occur. Exercise can also be invaluable to disturbing the elderly person’s inclination to become more sedentary which can lead to ultimately more severe health problems and eventually death.
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Source References
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- Depression an Overview
July 2005
Better Health Channel
Depression and Ageing
March 2006
Better Health Channel
Depression and Exercise
March 2006
Better Health Channel
June 5, 2003
Innovita Research Foundation
Pietro Gareri
Depression in the Elderly
