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The following is a summary of “Association Between Depressive Symptoms and Self-Reported Physical Activity in Persons With Knee Osteoarthritis,” published in the May 2025 issue of Journal of Rheumatology by Rathbun et al. 

Depressive symptoms frequently occur in knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and may decrease energy, motivation, and physical activity (PA) as the disease advances.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to analyze the longitudinal association between depressive symptoms and self-reported PA in individuals with KOA.  

They analyzed data from 2,602 Osteoarthritis Initiative participants with radiographic disease (Kellgren-Lawrence grade ≥ 2). Depressive symptoms were estimated by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; score ≥ 16) at baseline and 3 follow-up visits. Self-reported PA was evaluated via the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) during the first 4 follow-up visits. Marginal structural models adjusted for both time-invariant and time-varying confounders were used to examine the longitudinal association between depressive symptoms and PASE z scores.  

The results showed depressive symptoms were related to lower PA (β −0.09; 95% CI −0.20 to 0.01) over time, but this was not statistically significant. Including depressive symptoms-by-time interactions revealed a nonlinear pattern across visits: visit 1 = −0.18 (95% CI −0.33 to −0.02), visit 2 = −0.05 (95% CI −0.22 to 0.11), visit 3 = −0.01 (95% CI −0.19 to 0.16), and visit 4 = −0.11 (95% CI −0.29 to 0.08). However, these interaction terms were also not statistically significant.  

Investigators concluded that depressive symptoms likely contributed to lower self-reported PA levels in individuals with KOA, and future research should investigate if reduced physical function was subsequent outcome of decreased PA linked to these symptoms. 

Source: jrheum.org/content/52/5/505