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The authors examined associations between leisure-time and occupational physical activity and common mental disorder (CMD), defined as anxiety and depression, using data from a cohort of middle-aged men in Caerphilly, South Wales, United Kingdom, who were followed for 5 years (1989-1993) and 10 years (1993-1997). CMD was measured using the General Health Questionnaire. Total leisure-time activity and percentage of time spent in heavy-intensity activity were estimated from self-reports (Minnesota Leisure Time Physical Activity Questionnaire). Men were classified into four classes of occupational activity. Among 1,158 men with complete data, those who participated in any heavy-intensity leisure-time activity had reduced odds of CMD 5 years later (below median vs. none: adjusted odds ratio (OR(adj)) = 0.61, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.40, 0.93); median or above vs. none: OR(adj) = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.35, 0.83). Analyses using multiple imputation to deal with missing data found weaker evidence for an association (OR(adj) = 0.79 (95% CI: 0.54, 1.15) and OR(adj) = 0.73 (95% CI: 0.49, 1.09), respectively). There was little evidence that men in the most physically demanding jobs had reduced odds of CMD after 5 years, and there was no association between physical activity and CMD 10 years later. Among these men, heavy-intensity leisure-time physical activity was associated with a small reduction in CMD over 5 years.

Julian P. T. Higgins, Julian Little, John P. A. Ioannidis, Molly S. Bray, Teri A. Manolio, Liam Smeeth, Jonathan A. Sterne, Betsy Anagnostelis, Adam S. Butterworth, John Danesh, Carol Dezateux, John E. Gallacher, Marta Gwinn, Sarah J. Lewis, Cosetta Minelli, Paul D. Pharoah, Georgia Salanti, Simon Sanderson, Lesley A. Smith, Emanuela Taioli, John R. Thompson, Simon G. Thompson, Neil Walker, Ron L. Zimmern, and Muin J. Khoury