Assessing the Relationship Between Physical Activity and Depression in Lawyers and Law Professionals: A Cross-Sectional Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Allen JA ; Cox, Clinton ; Thiese MS
• Description:
  Background: Law professionals are understudied, and little is known about their mental health. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the relationship between the amount of physical activity and depressive symptoms. Methods: A sample of 681 law professionals completed a survey that assessed mental health conditions and activities to promote well-being. Crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated for the relationship between the number of days of an hour or more of physical activity and two levels of depression from the patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Results: Law professionals were found to have significantly more depressive symptoms, mild or worse and moderate or worse, when reporting 0 days of physical activity when compared to 7 days, with OR of 6.07 (95% CI 2.55-14.48) and 8.64 (95% CI 1.97-37.82) and adjusted ORs of 3.91 (95% CI 1.58-9.68) and 6.32 (95% CI 1.4-28.33), respectively. A dose response was also noted. Conclusions: There was a statistically significant relationship found between amounts of physical activity and depressive symptoms in law professionals. We recommend future research be conducted to better understand this relationship. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Activity Levels Author Keywords: Law Professional Burnout Cross Sectional Studies Depression Lawyer Mental Health Occupational Health Physical Activity Physical Exercise Well-being

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• ISSN:
  2673-8104
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 8 ; Utah
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  238-250
• Volume:
  4
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069979
• Citation:
  Merits 2024 Sep; 4(3):238-250
• Contact Point Address:
  Matthew S. Thiese, Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational & Environmental Health, University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, UT 84111, USA
• Email:
  chapman.cox@utah.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• Performing Organization:
  University of Utah
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Merits
• End Date:
  20280630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f65ea9192fa3ecedc7c180c88aacc2c656508e70489a75d2152178b5c90bb5fb57642f5367142a65a8830125c250b5bb5e05b7bd136b64731038abb78c9a9e70
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208292/cdc_208292_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 252.29 KB ]