In a study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, Swedish researchers concluded that regular physical activity can significantly reduce the risk of developing anxiety.
The research compared a long-distance cross-country ski race from the late 1980s, 1900s, and 2000s. As per the data, nearly 400 thousand people participated in the study.
“We used an observational study design to follow 395,369 individuals for up to 21 years to investigate if participation in an ultralong-distance cross-country ski race was associated with a lower risk of developing anxiety,” the author’s paper emphasized.
“Skiers in the race and matched non-skiers from the general population were studied after participation in the race using the Swedish population and patient registries.”
After a 21-year follow-up, researchers found that the group of participants with an apparently more active physical lifestyle had a nearly 60 percent lower risk of anxiety disorders.
What the authors concluded, based on their paper: “Our results support the recommendations of engaging in physical activity to decrease the risk of anxiety in both men and women. The impact of physical performance level on the risk of anxiety requires further investigations among women.”
