Accelerometer-derived "weekend warrior" physical activity, genetic susceptibility, and risk of depression and anxiety: The UK Biobank study.

Objective: Guidelines recommend 150 min per week (min/wk) or more of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) for mental health benefits. However, the relative effects of concentrated against more evenly distributed activity patterns remain unclear. Objective: We aimed to examine associations of the accelerometer-derived "weekend warrior (WW)" pattern (MVPA concentrated within 1 to 2 days) vs MVPA spread more evenly with risk of depression and anxiety.

Methods: This prospective cohort study included 84,570 participants with accelerometer data identified from the UK Biobank. Methods: Three MVPA patterns were compared: active WW (MVPA ≥150 min/wk and ≥50 % of total MVPA within 1 to 2 days), active regular (MVPA ≥150 min/wk but not active WW), and inactive (MVPA <150 min/wk). Methods: Cox regression was used to assess the association of MVPA patterns with depression and anxiety, and whether the association differed by different levels of sedentary time (≤6, 7-12, ≥13 h/day) and light physical activity (≤60, 61-150, ≥151 min/day). We also evaluated the combined impact of MVPA patterns and genetic susceptibility on depression and anxiety.

Results: During the follow-up of up to 9.40 years, 2098 and 2699 cases of depression and anxiety were identified, respectively. Compared with inactive group, active regular and active WW groups exhibited similarly reduced risks of depression (active regular: HR, 0.74 [95 % CI, 0.66-0.84]; active WW: 0.72 [0.65-0.80]) and anxiety (active regular: 0.77 [0.69-0.86]; active WW: 0.72 [0.66-0.79]). The impact of active regular and active WW groups on depression and anxiety was more pronounced among individuals with excessive sedentary time (≥13 h/day) and insufficient light physical activity (≤60 min/day). Individuals with low genetic risk and active regular (depression: 0.64 [0.48-0.87]; anxiety: 0.62 [0.49-0.79]), as well as low genetic risk and active WW groups (depression: 0.60 [0.47-0.77]; anxiety: 0.59 [0.48-0.72]) exhibited the lowest risks of depression and anxiety compared to those with high genetic risk and inactive group.

Conclusions: Adherence to active physical activity, regardless of physical activity concentrated within 1 to 2 days or more evenly distributed, may help reduce depression and anxiety risks across a population with different genetic risk profiles.