Cognitive function, physical activity, and depressive symptoms are intertwined in later life. Yet, the nature of the relationship between these three variables is unclear. Here, we aimed to determine which of physical activity or cognitive function mediated this relationship. We used large-scale longitudinal data from 51,191 adults 50 years of age or older (mean: 64.8 years, 54.7% women) from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Results of the longitudinal mediation analyses combined with autoregressive cross-lagged panel models showed that the model with physical activity as a mediator better fitted the data than the model with cognitive function as a mediator. Moreover, the mediating effect of physical activity was 8-9% of the total effect of cognitive function on depressive symptoms. Our findings suggest that higher cognitive resources favor the engagement in physical activity, which contributes to reduced depressive symptoms.

2nd Faculty of Medicine Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability University of Geneva Geneva Switzerland

Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics University of Geneva Geneva Switzerland

Faculty of Humanities Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Laboratory for the Study of Emotion Elicitation and Expression Department of Psychology University of Geneva Geneva Switzerland

LIVES Centre Swiss Centre of Expertise in Life Course Research Lausanne Switzerland

National Institute of Mental Health Klecany Czech Republic

Population Health Laboratory University of Fribourg Fribourg Switzerland

Swiss Center for Affective Sciences University of Geneva Geneva Switzerland

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