The moderating role of physical activity on the relationship between work intensity and depressive symptoms among the employees

Ting Dai; Jiangang Wang; Gang Gan; Chun Zhang; Xiaoqian Dong; Pingting Yang; Yaqin Wang; Jianfei Xie; Rui Xiao; Yinglong Duan

doi:10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101435

The moderating role of physical activity on the relationship between work intensity and depressive symptoms among the employees

SSM Popul Health. 2023 May 20:23:101435. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101435. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Authors

Ting Dai^{1

2}, Jiangang Wang¹, Gang Gan³, Chun Zhang³, Xiaoqian Dong³, Pingting Yang¹, Yaqin Wang¹, Jianfei Xie², Rui Xiao⁴, Yinglong Duan⁵

Affiliations

¹ Health Management Center, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410013, China.
² Nursing Department, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410013, China.
³ Xiangya Nursing School, Central South University, Changsha, 410017, China.
⁴ Hospital Management Office, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410013, China.
⁵ Emergency Department, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410013, China.

Abstract

Our aim was to examine the associations between work intensity and depressive symptoms among the working population, as well as to identify the impact of physical activity (PA) on these relationships. Spearman correlation analysis was conducted to analyze the correlations among work intensity, PA, and depressive symptoms. Working hours and working days were positively correlated with depressive symptoms (r = 0.108, 0.063; all p values were <0.001). Regular PA, exercise time, exercise frequency, and exercise years were negatively correlated with depressive symptoms (r = -0.121, -0.124, -0.152, -0.149; all p values were <0.001) and working days (r = -0.066, -0.050, -0.069, -0.044; all p values were <0.001), working hours (r = -0.113. -0.106, -0.161, -0.123; all p values were <0.001). Working days was positively correlated with working hours (r = 0.512, p < 0.001). Different levels of PA alleviated the effect of working hours or working days on depressive symptoms. Working hours seemed to be more correlated with depressive symptoms than working days. The results suggest that PA at any level could buffer against the effects of work intensity and might prove a helpful strategy for improving mental health issues among employees.

Keywords: Depressive symptoms; Employee; Physical activity; Work intensity; Working days; Working hours.