Aging is a natural phenomenon that is part of human development and is characterized by the accumulation of molecular and cellular changes that lead to a decline in capacities. The search for new knowledge about the elderly has shown that the vulnerability caused by the aging process makes these individuals susceptible to various pathologies, such as depression. The practice of physical activity is indicated as an alternative non-pharmacological treatment in many situations/diseases and is described as any body movement performed by skeletal muscles, which generates energy expenditure, favoring the production of new neurons and facilitating synaptic connections. Considering that depression is a prevalent pathology and that the practice of physical exercises is a non-pharmacological possibility of control, it is important to know if practice interferes with the reduction/control of depressive symptoms.

To verify whether the practice of self-reported physical activity is related to symptoms of depression in elderly people living in the community.

Individuals over 60 years of age of both sexes were included in the study, and a questionnaire was applied to collect personal data where the participant answered about their habits and physical activity practices. The assessment of depressive symptoms was performed using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), The score ranges from 0 (absence of depressive symptoms) to 15 points (maximum score of depressive symptoms). To analyze the data, comparisons were performed using unpaired t-test, correlations were performed by Pearson's correlation test, and statistical significance was defined as p ≤ 0.05.

The sample consisted of 139 seniors with a mean age of 70.06±5.90. The statistical analysis showed a correlation between the practice of self-reported physical activities and the GDS among women (r= - 0,303; p< 0,007) and among men (r= - 0,30; p= 0,01). Analyzing the entire sample, it was found that the practice of exercises predicted the occurrence of depressive symptoms [[F(1,137) = 14,543; p<0,0001; R²= 0,08]. A significant difference was observed in the GDS scores between the group of practitioners of physical activity and the group of non-practitioners (2.90±2.02 and 4.81±3.00, respectively; p<0.0001).

It was possible to conclude that there was an influence of the practice of physical activities on the symptoms of depression in the elderly evaluated and that the practicing group had lower scores in the GDS than the non-practicing group.

The observed results can contribute to public health, making it possible to create early actions to maintain the quality of life of these individuals, being important of attention and investment in preventive health actions.