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Objectives: Physical activity (PA) can reduce depressive symptoms but has not been tested amongst depressed older caregivers and their care‐recipients. The aim of this single‐blind randomized controlled trial was to investigate the effect of a 6‐month tailored PA program on depressive symptoms in older caregivers. Method: Caregivers were included if they had scores of ≥5 on the 15‐item geriatric depression scale (GDS‐15). Care‐recipients could have any type of physical, mental or cognitive condition requiring support. The PA intervention group completed an individualized program based on the Otago‐Plus Exercise Program. The primary outcome was improvement in depressive symptoms in caregivers measured at six and 12 months. Results: Two hundred and twelve participants (91 dyads and 30 caregivers only) were randomized using a 3:3:1 ratio to PA intervention, social‐control, and usual‐care control groups. There were no significant differences in depressive symptoms of the caregivers between the three groups at 6 months or 12 months. However, more than 50% of caregivers in all three groups no longer had a GDS‐15 score ≥5 at 6 months. Further analysis revealed that caregivers in the PA group caring for someone with a standardised mini‐mental state examination (SMMSE) score ≥24 had significantly less depressive symptoms than those caring for someone with a SMMSE score <24 compared with social‐control (p < 0.02) and usual‐care groups (p < 0.02). Conclusions: A PA intervention may be beneficial for some caregivers in reducing symptoms of depression but may not be as beneficial to caregivers of people living with cognitive impairment. Key points: Physical activity (PA) may help to reduce depression, stress and burden in caregivers.This study investigated the effects of an individually tailored, home‐based PA intervention for both caregivers and care‐recipients, of 6 months' duration, on improving depressive symptoms in older caregivers.A PA intervention may be beneficial for caregivers in reducing symptoms of depression but may not be as beneficial to caregivers of people living with cognitive impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To systematically review the evidence on whether having current, ever asthma and asthma control is associated with levels of total, moderate and vigorous physical activity. We searched EMBASE, MEDLINE, and CINAHL databases, limiting searches to English language papers from inception until Oct 2019. We synthesized the evidence comparing levels of total, moderate and vigorous physical activity between adults with and without current asthma or ever asthma by random effects meta-analyses. A total of 25 studies were included, with 18 of these included in meta-analyses. A meta-analysis of 4 case-control studies found that adults with current asthma were less active, with 942.12 steps fewer per day, than adults without current asthma (SMD = −0.39, 95%CI: −0.54, −0.24, I2 = 0). Meta-analysis of four-high quality cross-sectional studies found that those with current or ever asthma were more likely to be inactive than those without asthma (binary OR current asthma = 0.85, 95%CI: 0.82, 0.89, I2 = 45.6%, and binary OR ever asthma = 0.83, 0.75, 0.91, I2 = 0, respectively). Meta-analysis, inclusive of all 10 cross-sectional studies with binary ORs, supported this finding. There was also some evidence that adults with current asthma and ever asthma (6 studies with categorical ORs) were less likely to exercise moderately and vigorously, but these meta-analyses were limited by high heterogeneity. No synthesis of the studies considering asthma control was possible. Adults with current or ever asthma had lower levels of total, moderate and vigorous physical activity than those without asthma and may be missing out on the health benefits of being physically active. The association between asthma control and physical activity warrants further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]