Depressive symptoms, depression and physical activity in elderly individuals: an integrating review

Abstract

Objective: The present study aimed to carry out an integrative review of the literature on the practice of physical activity and depressive symptoms / depression in the elderly. Full articles and reviews published in the PubMed and LILACS databases were used. Method: The present review followed six steps: identification of the theme and elaboration of the guiding question of the research, establishment of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, data extraction and categorization of the studies, analysis and synthesis of the results and presentation of the review. The search for articles was carried out from 2007 to 2017 and 253 studies were identified, however 11 studies were used as a sample in this review. Results: The results showed that physical activity has a positive effect on the prevention and reduction of depressive symptoms / depression, with an inverse relationship between these two variables in most studies. Conclusion: Therefore, physical activity is an important preventive measure for improving the mental health of the elderly.