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Higher levels of physical activity are associated with lower risks for depression, but it is not clear which comes first. To address this question, researchers examined data from 611,583 subjects in genome-wide association studies. Data about genetic variants associated with risk for major depressive disorder (MDD) were correlated with self-reported and objectively measured physical activity.
Greater 72-hour accelerometer-based activity (but not self-reported weekly activity) predicted a significantly lower genetic MDD-risk profile. Analysis of the opposite correlation, however, indicated that a genetic MDD profile did not predict the level of physical activity on either measure. The authors suggested that a 1-standard-deviation reduction in…