Behavioral risk factors including smoking, obesity, limited physical activity and a less healthy diet strongly predict the likelihood of depression—and that likelihood increases with each additional risk factor a person possesses. Additionally, the risk factors most strongly linked to depression change with age.
Previous studies had identified behavioral risk factors for depression, but it was unclear how these variables changed across the lifespan. This study sought to identify how the risk factors varied among three age groups: younger (18-39 years old), middle-aged (40-59) and older (60-99) adults.
The researchers collected data from more than 30,000 survey respondents, who answered questions about their lifestyle, including smoking, weight, physical activity and diet, as well as their history of depression. The team looked for correlations between the risk factors and depression, controlling for variables such as gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.
[For more on this study by Alice Walton, University of California, Los Angeles, go to https://medicalxpress.com/news...ession-vary-age.html]
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