Effect of Sport Activities on the Quality of Life, Mental Health, and Depression of the Individuals with Disabilities

Disability causes physical, psychological, and social disorders in the suffering people. Some studies suggested that exercise can reduce such disorders. Therefore, the current study aimed at investigating the effect of sport activities on the quality of life, mental health, and depression in the people with disability.
The statistical population of the current quasi-experimental study was all the patients with physical and mental disorders in Shiraz, Iran. Because of limited access to the target population, using the purposive sampling method, 69 subjects (18 patients with disabilities and 51 healthy subjects) referring to the Welfare Organization of Shiraz, Iran were enrolled in the study. Data collection tools were the 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36), general health questionnaire (GHQ-28) and the Beck depression inventory. For data analysis, SPSS version 18 with Mann-Whitney U test was used (α = 0.05).
The findings of the current study showed that the active disabled people got higher total scores in mental health (P = 0.001) as well as subscales of physical symptoms (P = 0.001), anxiety (P = 0.001), depression (P = 0.001), quality of life (P = 0.001), role play limitations due to mental (emotional) reasons (P = 0.03), social functioning (P = 0.001), and role play limitations due to physical (P = 0.01) and general health (P = 0.03) reasons than the inactive ones.
The findings of the current study showed that exercise can improve the quality of life, mental health, and depression in people with disabilities. Therefore, it is suggested to include exercises in the weekly rehabilitation schedule of this vulnerable group of the community.