The relationship between walking and depression, anxiety, and stress among a sample from Jazan, Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional investigation

Abstract

This study is aiming to investigate the association between walking and depression, anxiety and stress among adults from Jazan, Saudi Arabia. This study was a cross-sectional investigation where data was collected via an online self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire had 4 components that measured demographics of the sample, presence of depression, anxiety and stress, and walking history. Differences in median scores of depression, anxiety, and stress according to the measured characteristics were tested via the Mann–Whitney U test. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to estimate odds of reporting depression, anxiety, and stress according to the measured characteristics. A total of 472 adult subjects participated in the current study. The median age of the participants was 23 years, and 52% were males. Half of the participants had variable degrees of depression and anxiety while 39% of the participants had variable degrees of stress. Gender appeared to have the strongest influence on level of depression, anxiety, and stress among the recruited sample (odds ratio 1.8, 2.1, 1.6 respectively ( P values < .01). Upon stratifying the sample according to gender, marital status seems to have an association with depression, anxiety, and stress among females ( P values < .05). Among males, only walking more than 3 days was associated with the reduction of anxiety ( P value .005) and depression ( P value .06). This study identified gender difference where walking was not associated with mental health among women but relatively associated among males.