Associations of Physical Activity Levels with Depressive Symptoms among Patients with Radiographic Axial Spondyloarthritis: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Authors

Xinyue Yin, Shuhan Zhao, Yuanzhi Peng, Shuolong Li, Shanshan Li, Guoyong Ding

Published in

The Journal of rheumatology. Jul 15, 2026. Epub Jul 15, 2026.

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the associations between physical activity (PA) levels and depressive symptoms in patients with radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (r-axSpA).
We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of patients with r-axSpA identified from the UK Biobank. Total physical activity (TPA) was assessed using a modified version of the short-form International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF), and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) was derived from self-reported frequency and duration of five leisure activities during the preceding four weeks. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2). Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine the associations between PA levels and depressive symptoms.
Among 1542 patients with r-axSpA, those engaging in moderate-level PA had the lowest prevalence of depressive symptoms. After full adjustment, moderate-level TPA was associated with lower odds of depressive symptoms compared with low-level TPA (OR 0.55; 95% CI 0.36-0.82), whereas the association for high-level TPA was not statistically significant (OR 0.63; 95% CI 0.39-1.01). Moderate-level LTPA was also associated with lower odds of depressive symptoms (OR 0.58; 95% CI 0.34-0.996), while low- and high-level LTPA showed no significant associations after full adjustment.
Moderate-level PA was associated with a lower prevalence of depressive symptoms in patients with r-axSpA, whereas associations for high-level PA were less consistent. Our findings suggest that PA levels may be an important correlate of depressive symptoms in patients with r-axSpA, warranting confirmation in longitudinal studies.

PMID:
42457341
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 16 Jul 2026.

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