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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1506168
This article is part of the Research Topic Towards a Psychophysiological Approach in Physical Activity, Exercise, and Sports-Volume IV View all 9 articles

Outdoor Activity Time and Depression Risk Among Adults Aged 40 Years and Older: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of NHANES 2011-2018 Data

Provisionally accepted
Juan Xie Juan Xie Cheng Guo Cheng Guo Kai Liu Kai Liu *Liming Cheng Liming Cheng
  • Kunming Children's Hospital, Kunming, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Depression is a significant global public health issue, affecting millions worldwide. Outdoor activities have shown potential mental health benefits, but the specific mechanisms and influencing factors remain unclear. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the association between time spent outdoors and depression risk among U.S. adults, with a focus on variations across age and ethnic groups. Methods: Using data from the NHANES 2011-2018 survey, we analyzed 9,036 adults aged 20 years and older. Participants self-reported their outdoor activity time and depressive symptoms. Statistical analysis, accounting for various demographic and lifestyle factors, was employed to assess the relationship between outdoor activity and depression risk. Results: Spending more time outdoors was associated with a 51% lower risk of depression (odds ratio: 0.51, 95% CI: 0.40-0.64). Subgroup analysis revealed that this association was particularly pronounced among adults aged 40 and older, as well as non-Hispanic whites and non-Hispanic blacks. Conclusions: Encouraging outdoor activities may represent an effective public health strategy to reduce depression risk, particularly among middle-aged and older adults and specific ethnic populations. Public health policies should prioritize initiatives that encourage outdoor engagement, and future research is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms and population-specific responses to outdoor activity.

    Keywords: Outdoor, Depression, Activities, time, NHANES

    Received: 04 Oct 2024; Accepted: 10 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Xie, Guo, Liu and Cheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Kai Liu, Kunming Children's Hospital, Kunming, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.