Do Older Adults Engaged in a Community-Based Exercise Program Have Better Mental Health Indicators? A Static Group Comparison Study in a Brazilian Regional Area

¿Tienen los adultos mayores que participan en un programa de ejercicio basado en la comunidad mejores indicadores de salud mental? Un estudio comparativo de grupos estáticos en un área regional brasileña

Published 2025-05-05

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Vol. 7 No. 2 (2025)
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Research Article
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Cavalcanti MVB, Nascimento PFM do, Oliveira L dos S. Do Older Adults Engaged in a Community-Based Exercise Program Have Better Mental Health Indicators? A Static Group Comparison Study in a Brazilian Regional Area. Rev. Investig. Innov. Cienc. Salud [Internet]. 2025 May 5 [cited 2025 Jun. 6];7(2):1-14. Available from: https://riics.info/index.php/RCMC/article/view/407
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https://doi.org/10.46634/riics.407
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Matheus Vitor Beserra Cavalcanti
Escola de Ensino Superior do Agreste Paraibano
Roles:  
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9803-3099
Paula Ferreira Mendes do Nascimento
Inclusive Physical Education
Roles:  
https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0778-1086
Leonardo dos Santos Oliveira
Escola de Ensino Superior do Agreste Paraibano
Roles:  
Perfil Google Scholar
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7485-105X
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Matheus Vitor Beserra Cavalcanti,

Escola de Ensino Superior do Agreste Paraibano (EESAP); Guarabira; Brazil.

Paula Ferreira Mendes do Nascimento,

Inclusive Physical Education; João Pessoa; Brazil.

Leonardo dos Santos Oliveira,

1 Escola de Ensino Superior do Agreste Paraibano (EESAP); Guarabira; Brazil.

2 Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB); João Pessoa; Brazil.

Introduction. The evidence on the effectiveness of community-based exercise program (CBEP) on psychological distress among older adults appears unclear, especially in developing countries.

Objective. To compare the mental health of older adults engaged in an 8-week CBEP with a physically inactive control group living in a Brazilian regional area.

Method. In a static group comparison design (a single post-exposure measure), older adult women engaged in a community-based exercise program [CBEP, n = 24, mean (SD), age: 67 (9) years, BMI: 27.7 (5.1) kg/m2] and a physically inactive control group [PIC, n = 30, mean (SD), age: 69 (6) years, BMI: 29.5 (3.4) kg/m2] participated of this study. The CBEP was conducted 3x/wk for 8 weeks, with Pilates activities (90 min/wk), water-aerobic exercises (90 min/wk) and Brazilian capoeira (120 min/wk). Self-report data on sociodemographic, clinical characteristics and indicators of stress, anxiety and depression (DASS-21 scale) were assessed to provide a posttest to both the experimental group and the comparison group.

Results. The Welch ANOVA showed lower levels of anxiety (Cohen’s d = 2.9), depression (Cohen’s d = 4.2) and stress (Cohen’s d = 3.5) in the CBEP group compared to the PIC group (P<0.001). Likewise, the psychological distress was statistically lower for the CBEP group (Cohen’s d = 3.9, P<0.001).

Conclusion. Compared to their physically inactive counterparts, female older adults who participate in a CBEP have the best mental health indicators.

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