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Skiers are at lower risk of anxiety, study finds

2021-09-16T02:50:33.176Z


A study published Friday found that skiers have up to a 60% lower risk of suffering from an anxiety disorder.


The comments of a 3 year old girl while skiing 2:40

(CNN) -

The

slaloms

snow can not miss in the winter for some, but also to mark the winter season, could have benefits for mental health.


According to a study published Friday in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry, skiers have a nearly 60% lower risk of being diagnosed with anxiety disorders than non-skiers.

  • What is anxiety, what are the symptoms, and how to seek help?

Mental health experts have for years viewed physical activity as a "promising strategy" to help prevent anxiety, which affects up to 10% of people worldwide, or reduce its symptoms.

However, the study authors write, previous research has been inconclusive on the impact of the amount or intensity of exercise or fitness level on the risk of developing anxiety disorders, and on how these relationships might differ between men and women.

Some researchers have also proposed that any association between high levels of physical activity and a lower risk of anxiety disorder may be due to undiagnosed anxiety symptoms preventing some vulnerable individuals from engaging in physical activity.

Competitors at the 2021 Tjejvasan Vasaloppet for women in Mora, Sweden, on February 27.

The authors compared 197,685 Swedes who participated in the Vasaloppet, the world's largest long-distance ski race, 90 kilometers long, between 1989 and 2010, with 197,684 adults who had similar health profiles but were not skiers.

All participants were relatively healthy: they did not have any serious illnesses or psychiatric disorders, but the skiers on the Vasaloppet generally exercised more during their free time, smoked less, ate a healthier diet, and had a lower death rate than non-skiers. skiers.

Participation in the Vasaloppet requires a prolonged exercise routine in preparation for the race.

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After a mean follow-up period of 10 years, a total of 1,649 participants were diagnosed with anxiety disorders.

Compared to non-skiers, skiers had about a 60% lower risk of being diagnosed with anxiety disorders, said study author Martina Svensson, regardless of education level, age and gender.

Differences between women and men skiers

The time it took for the skiers to finish the race, which the authors used as a measure of physical performance, did not influence the risk of anxiety disorders for the male skiers.

However, among female skiers, "high-performance women had almost twice the risk of developing anxiety compared to low-performance women," said Svensson, a research associate at the Laboratory for Experimental Neuroinflammation at Lund University, Sweden. via email.

Despite these findings among the faster skiers, "the overall risk of anxiety among these high-performance women was still lower compared to the more physically inactive women in the general population," Svensson said.

"It appears that both genders benefit from being physically active, although the optimal level may differ between men and women. The factors that explain these differences need to be studied further."

Why do women suffer more anxiety than men?

The difference between women and men in the impact of physical performance on anxiety risk may have to do with their different physiological responses to exercise, the authors wrote.

In previous research, women reported increased stress and exhaustion after exercise.

Other explanations for faster skiers' increased risk of anxiety could point to psychological factors arguably more common among high-performance skiers, the authors wrote, including anxiety about one's appearance, which has been found more commonly among women who exercise, and self-perceived fitness level, which can drive extreme exercise and increase anxiety.

In addition, according to the study, the greater physical performance of these women could indicate that the anxiety already existed but was not diagnosed.

Why those who ski had a lower risk of anxiety

The study builds on previous research on how a physically active lifestyle might affect the development of anxiety disorders, the authors wrote, including a 2017 study that found that low levels of cardiovascular fitness were linked to an increased risk of being diagnosed with anxiety disorders in his study of more than 1 million Swedish men who were followed up to age 42.

The authors of the new study raised "several potential explanations that make sense," James Maddux, professor emeritus in the Department of Psychology at George Mason University in Virginia, said by email.

Maddux was not involved in the study.

"Exercise can be a mental distraction from worrying thoughts. We also know that being in nature generally increases our sense of well-being, so exercise done outdoors, such as skiing in this study, should be especially helpful. "said Maddux, who is also a principal investigator at the university's Center for Advancing Wellness.

"Participating in a period of exercise can lead to a sense of accomplishment and a greater sense of self-efficacy (or self-confidence) that can lead to less anxiety."

Cortisol is our main stress hormone. And in one study, the cortisol of many people with anxiety disorder responded abnormally based on cortisol levels in blood and saliva samples taken after stress, the authors added, while people with increased cardiovascular fitness or who they were randomly assigned to carry out some physical activity before being subjected to stress they secreted less cortisol.

Additionally, exercise may reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, which have been linked to anxiety.

And finally, exercise induces brain-derived neurotrophic growth factor (a key molecule involved in changes related to learning and memory) which is lower in people with anxiety disorders and in women, even after the exercise.

  • Higher levels of stress increase blood pressure and risk of heart attacks and strokes, study finds

The study has other limitations that should be investigated in the future, such as the lack of knowledge of the levels of physical activity of non-skiers and the individual traits that could have influenced commitment to exercise and vulnerability to anxiety disorders, they wrote. the authors.

The study also lacked racial and ethnic diversity.

But based on related accumulating research, "anyone dealing with anxiety, stress or depression should seriously consider regular exercise as a strategy to better manage their emotions," Maddux said.

"You don't need to join a gym or go skiing. Just start walking for a few minutes each day. Anything helps."

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Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2021-09-16

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