The mediating role of physical activity, morning wake-up time, and sleep-inducing medication use in the relationship between age and depression: a path analysis of a large kurdish cohort study in Iran – BMC Public Health
Background Depression is a common and debilitating psychiatric disorder worldwide. Recognizing the relationships between depression-related factors can play a significant role in depression management. However, no study has yet used path analysis to examine the mediating role of physical activity, morning wake-up time, and sleep-inducing medication in the relationship between age and depression. Methods This path analysis study utilized data from the baseline phase of the Ravansar non-communicable disease cohort study. This study was conducted on people aged 35 to 65 years using sociodemographic, clinical, and the PERSIAN cohort’s standard physical activity questionnaires. These analyses were done using SPSS (version 22) and MPLUS (version 8.3). Path analysis was applied to evaluate the direct, indirect, and total effects of age on depression. Results The results indicated that increasing age was associated with an increase in depression through a decrease in physical activity and an i
