Adults with the highest inherited risk of depression who remain physically active may experience far milder symptoms, according to a new study published in Nature Mental Health. The research, led by scientists at the University of Texas at San Antonio, suggests that regular movement can soften the influence of genetic predisposition on how severe depression becomes.
Major depressive disorder is widespread worldwide and is shaped by childhood experiences, lifestyle and genetics. The team drew on long-term information from fitness trackers, health records and genetic profiles for 23,517 adults in the All of Us Research Program, run by the National Institutes of Health.
Fitbit records gave a clearer view of daily habits
Lead author Qiliang He said earlier studies often relied on short-term or self-reported exercise figures, which can be unreliable. This project instead used Fitbit records covering about 1.6 years per person, capturing step counts and time spent in moderate or vigorous activity.
To connect biology with behavior, the scientists calculated polygenic risk scores to estimate each participant’s genetic risk. As expected, people with higher scores were more likely to be diagnosed with depression.
Activity linked to milder symptoms across genetic risk levels
The most notable finding concerned symptom severity rather than diagnosis. Participants with the greatest genetic risk benefited most from regular exercise, and across all risk levels, more active people had considerably less severe symptoms than those who moved less.
The study is observational, but the team hopes wearable data will help advance personalised medicine. Doctors might one day recommend specific types and amounts of exercise based on a person’s genetic profile. The researchers also plan to test whether similar lifestyle changes can help protect against severe anxiety disorders.
