Leisure Time Activities and Mental Health Among Tehran Older People in 2018

Leisure activity helps the elderly to improve their physical and mental health. The aim of this study is to assess interlink between the leisure activity and mental health in older people.

We select 413 people over 60 years old.  We collected data using GHQ 15-question survey, Nagi questionnaire and a new reliable and validated designed questionnaire. Our data was analyzed using spearman correlation, and regression analysis in SPSS21.

The findings of this study showed that the most leisure activity in the elderly is watching television. We report a relationship between recreation and religious activities with mental health in elderly (pvalue <0/0001). Among the confounding factors, physical health imposed the most significant effect.

Physical health is an effective factor in the relationship between leisure time and mental health of the elderly. Considering the significant relationship between religious classes and mental health of the elderly individuals, planners should consider the role of mosques, husites and municipalities as a custodians of leisure centers. On the other hand, considering the effect of physical health on the relationship between leisure time and mental health, provision of situation that can involve elderly people in sports and recreational activities is an effective step to increase the mental health of the elderly individuals.