Cillian McDowell

Health Information and Quality Authority

Background: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is prevalent and costly. Physical activity (PA) may protect against other mental health disorders, including depression, but its protective effect on GAD remains under-studied in the general population and unstudied among older adults. Therefore, the present study examines associations between meeting...

Context: Anxiety symptoms and disorders are highly prevalent and costly. Prospective studies suggest that physical activity may prevent anxiety development; however, this body of literature has not been reviewed comprehensively. Evidence acquisition: Studies measuring physical activity at baseline and anxiety at a designated follow-up at least 1...

Objective To explore whether physical activity is inversely associated with the onset of depression, we quantified the cumulative association of customary physical activity with incident depression and with an increase in subclinical depressive symptoms over time as reported from prospective observational studies. Design Systematic review and meta...

The COVID-19 pandemic altered many facets of life. We aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19-related public health guidelines on physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior, mental health, and their interrelations. Cross-sectional data were collected from 3052 US adults 3-8 April 2020 (from all 50 states). Participants self-reported pre-and post-C...

Background Higher levels of sedentary behaviour (SB) and screen-time are associated with greater symptoms of depression in adolescents, but the effect of the type and context of SB and screen-time remains underexplored. As part of a nationally-representative observational study, the current cross-sectional study examined associations between SB, sc...

Purpose: The associations of screen-time (ST) and physical activity (PA) with adolescent mental health are largely well-established. However, there is limited and inconsistent evidence for the ST, PA, and anxiety relationship. Methods: We cross-sectionally examined associations between anxiety symptoms with various ST modes and PA levels. Participa...

Higher levels of physical activity (PA) and screen time (ST) are associated with positive and negative mental health outcomes among adolescents, respectively. Research is needed to determine the interrelationship between ST and PA with depressive symptoms and the influence of ST modes. This study examines the associations between ST and PA level wi...

Background: Understanding the direction and magnitude of mental health-loneliness associations across time is important to understand how best to prevent and treat mental health and loneliness. This study used weekly data collected over 8 weeks throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to expand previous findings and using dynamic panel models with fixed ef...

Flooding events can inflict major disruption on society and cause significant infrastructural and environmental damage. However, the adverse health impacts of flooding, particularly as they pertain to private groundwater resources used for consumption, are frequently overlooked. Whilst the literature has previously found a lack of well stewardship...

Background: The effects of a single bout of resistance exercise (RE) on state anxiety and worry symptoms are understudied. Further, how resistance exercise training (RET) changes response to acute RE is unknown. Methods: Sixty-two untrained young adults (mean age (y):26.6; RET n=27, Wait-list (WL): n=35, 62.9% female) were randomized to an eight-we...

The COVID-19 pandemic has elicited increased sedentary behaviors, decreased moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and worsened mental health, yet the longitudinal impact of these changes and their inter-relations remains unknown. Our purpose was to examine associations between changes in self-reported activity behaviors and mental health o...

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and containment strategies employed to limit its spread have profoundly impacted daily life. Emerging evidence shows that mental health worsened compared to pre-pandemic trends. In this study, we examine associations of self-reported changes in physical activities and sedentary behaviors...

Objectives It is a concern that public health measures to prevent older people contracting COVID-19 could lead to a rise in mental health problems such as depression. The aim of this study therefore is to examinetrends of depressive symptomsbefore and during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large cohort of older people. Design Observational study with 6...

Evidence supports moderate-to-large reductions in anxiety, depression, and perceived stress after smoking cessation; however, much of the available evidence has focused on young adults. Therefore, this study quantified associations between smoking and smoking cessation on prevalent and incident generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depressio...

Individuals with anxiety disorders exhibit lower intrinsic functional connectivity between prefrontal cortical areas and subcortical regions. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is sensitive to the acute and chronic effects of physical activity (PA), while the anxiolytic effects of PA are well known. The current study examined the association of generalise...

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Over 720,000 people in the Republic of Ireland rely on private groundwater resources (i.e. private wells) for daily consumption, and as these extractions are unregulated, users are solely responsible for managing/mitigating contamination risks to their supplies. However, low levels of exposure to appropriate guidance on well water protection and on...

Introduction The objective of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) was to quantify the effects of eight weeks of World Health Organization and American College of Sports Medicine guidelines-based resistance exercise training (RET) among participants meeting criteria for subclinical, or analogue-GAD (AGAD) Methods Forty-four participants (mean ag...

Objectives: To examine associations of changing employment conditions, specifically switching to working from home (WFH) or job loss, with mental health, using data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Data from 2,301 US adults in employment prior to COVID-19 were collected April 3rd−7th, 2020. Participants reported whether their employ...

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and associated pandemic has resulted in systemic changes to much of life, affecting both physical and mental health. Time spent outside is associated with positive mental health; however, opportunities to be outside were likely affected by the COVID-19 public health restrictions that encouraged people n...

Background : Associations between physical activity (PA) and subclinical anxiety disorder symptoms and status, and potential mediating effect of social physique anxiety (SPA), remain understudied. We examined associations between PA and analogue Generalized Anxiety Disorder (AGAD), analogue Social Anxiety Disorder (ASAD), and analogue Panic Disorde...

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered much of US life with shifts to working-from-home and social distancing changing day-to-day behavior. We aimed to determine the self-reported prevalence of meeting US physical activity guidelines, stratified by sitting time during the early lockdown phase of COVID-19 in US adults. We conducted two cross-se...

Objectives: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, major changes to how, or even whether, we work have occurred. This study examines associations of changing COVID-19-related employment conditions with physical activity and sedentary behavior. Methods: Data from 2,303 US adults in employment prior to COVID-19 were collected April 3rd-7th, 2020. Participants...

This trial quantified the effects of ecologically-valid resistance exercise training (RET) on anxiety and worry symptoms among young adults. Young adults not meeting criteria for subclinical, or analogue Generalized Anxiety Disorder (AGAD) were randomized to an eight-week RET intervention, or eight-week wait-list. AGAD status was determined using v...

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Background: This study aimed to examine associations of personality with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and physical activity (PA), PA with GAD, and PA mediates associations between personality and incident GAD. Methods: Participants aged ≥50 years completed the 60-item NEO-Five Factor Inventory questionnaire to assess personality and short-for...

Over 720,000 people in the Republic of Ireland rely on private groundwater resources (i.e. private wells) for daily consumption, and as these extractions are unregulated, users are solely responsible for managing/mitigating contamination risks to their supplies. However, low levels of exposure to appropriate guidance on well water protection and on...

This project evaluated the impact of COVID-19-related public health restrictions on physical activity, sedentary time, mental health, and their interrelations. Cross-sectional data were collected from 3,052 US adults on April 3rd-7th, 2020. Physical activity, sitting, and screen time, both pre- and post-COVID-19-related restrictions, along with cur...

Statement of problem Comorbid anxiety and depression is increasingly prevalent in adolescents, and comorbidity results in greater symptom severity and duration. Our previous reports support positive benefits of physical activity (PA) for depressive symptoms among adolescents (see Mcdowell, MacDonncha, & Herring, 2017). However, the impact of comorb...

Abstract Background Anxiety is an adaptive response to an objective or perceived threat; however, when symptoms become severe and chronic it that can become a maladaptive anxiety disorder. Limited evidence suggests that physical activity may be associated with prevention against anxiety. This study uses data from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Age...

Extreme weather events including flooding can have severe personal, infrastructural, and economic consequences, with recent evidence pointing to surface flooding as a pathway for the microbial contamination of private groundwater supplies. There is a pressing need for increasingly focused information and awareness campaigns to highlight the risks p...

Objectives Recent meta-analyses support the chronic anxiolytic effects of resistance exercise training (RET) among women with diagnosed Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). However, the effects of RET among those with subclinical, or analogue, GAD (AGAD) is unknown. The purpose of the pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) detailed in this protocol...

Synthesis Report on FloodRisk2WellWater Project. The Irish Research Council and Geological Survey Ireland provided funding for this project under the remit of their Research for Policy and Society Programme 2016.

Groundwater contamination constitutes a significant health risk for private well users residing in rural areas. As the responsibility to safeguard rural private domestic groundwater typically rests with non-expert homeowners, interventions promoting risk mitigation and awareness represent the most viable means of preventing supply contamination. Ho...

Background: Associations between grip strength and mental health disorders have been established; however, associations between grip strength and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) remain unstudied. Therefore, this study investigates associations between grip strength and prevalent and incident GAD. Methods: A prospective cohort design was utili...

Objective: Regular physical activity (PA) is associated with less self-reported anxiety, but prospective studies linked to clinician diagnoses of anxiety disorder remain scarce. We examined whether the PA levels recommended for general health are related to anxiety symptoms and disorders. Method: In total, 43,863 Swedish adults were surveyed in...

Purpose: This study tested whether the severity of somatization, panic, generalized anxiety, and depression symptoms mediated relationships between physical activity and pain using structural equation modeling. Methods: College women (n = 1036; mean = SD age of 19.7 ± 3.0 years) reported past week physical activity and the presence of persistent...

Physical activity (PA) can protect against depression, but few studies have assessed whether meeting PA guidelines is sufficient, or if benefits can be derived from greater volumes of PA. The present study examines cross-sectional and prospective associations between different volumes of moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and walking, and depressive sy...

Background: Depression is a prevalent, debilitating, and often recurrent mood disorder for which successful first-line treatments remains limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cross-sectional associations between self-reported physical activity (PA) and depressive symptoms and status among Irish adults, using two existing datas...

Importance The physical benefits of resistance exercise training (RET) are well documented, but less is known regarding the association of RET with mental health outcomes. To date, no quantitative synthesis of the antidepressant effects of RET has been conducted. Objectives To estimate the association of efficacy of RET with depressive symptoms an...

Muscular strength is a modifiable protective factor for mental health across aging populations. Evidence of sex-related differences in its associations with mental health is limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine sex-related differences in cross-sectional and prospective associations between grip strength and depressive sympto...

Aims Anxiety is debilitating and associated with numerous mental and physical comorbidities. There is a need to identify and investigate low-risk prevention and treatment strategies. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between different volumes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activi...

Background: The salutary effects of resistance exercise training (RET) are well established, including increased strength and function; however, less is known regarding the effects of RET on mental health outcomes. Aerobic exercise has well-documented positive effects on anxiety, but a quantitative synthesis of RET effects on anxiety is needed. O...

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of exercise training on anxiety symptoms in patients with FM, and to examine whether variables of theoretical or practical importance moderate the estimated mean effect. Methods: Twenty-five effects were derived from 10 articles published before June 2016 located using Google Scholar, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed, a...

The purpose of this study is to investigate associations between physical activity (PA), depression, and anxiety among adolescents in Ireland. Adolescents (N = 481; 281 male, 200 female) aged 15.1 ± 1.7y self-reported PA level, depression, and anxiety. Approximately 21% of adolescents were high trait anxious, and ∼37% reported scores indicating pro...

Purpose: To quantify and compare differences in baseline mood and the magnitude of mood responses to either acute aerobic exercise or quiet rest among young adult men and women. Methods: Fifty-three (27 M; 26 F) young adults completed two counterbalanced conditions: 30-min of vigorous treadmill exercise or 30-min of quiet rest. Outcomes included...