Volume 32, Nº 6, November and December 2019
DOI: http://www.dx.doi.org/10.5935/2359-4802.20190094
EDITORIAL
Moderate Exercise Improves Depressive Symptoms and Pain in Elderly People
Leandro Franzoni
Ricardo Stein
By the year of 2050, it is estimated that approximately two billion people in the world will be older than 60 years.1 Aging directly affects individuals’ quality of life (QoL) due to reduced autonomy in daily life activities. In this context, psychological and physical aspects, such as depression and pain, impair the QoL of elderly individuals. Antidepressant medication is commonly used to treat depression, and physical exercise has been increasingly prescribed as therapeutic alternative to depression symptoms.2 In addition, this non-pharmacological measure may have an analgesic effect as it attenuates the physical pain caused by the pathological process of aging.3 In this regard, aerobic exercise, such as moderate-intensity walking seems to have a positive impact on anxiety/depression and on physical pain and has the potential to improve the QoL of elderly people according to an observational study conducted in South Korea.4
Keywords: Aged; Antidepressive Agents/adverse effects; Comorbidity; Depressive Disorder/therapy; Frail Elderly; Physical, Activity.
