Association between physical activity and mental health in health professionals in the context of the pandemic: a study in southern Brazil.

OBJECTIVE:To verify the association between physical activity (PA) and mental health among health professionals in southern Brazil. METHODS:Cross-sectional study with 101 workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health and PA were assessed using the questionnaires. The association of PA with stress was tested by linear regression, and anxiety and depressive symptoms by Poisson regression. RESULTS:The stress was inversely associated with individuals who performed some PA (β:-3.53;95% CI:-6.63;-0.44) and who met the PA recommendations (active) (β:-6.84;95% CI:-12.44;-1.24). Workers who performed some PA (PR:0.76;95% CI:0.67;0.86) and were active (PR:0.75;95% CI:0.60;0.93) were less likely to have severe symptoms of anxiety. For depression, workers who performed some PA (PR:0.81;95% CI:0.71;0.92) and were active (PR:0.69;95% CI:0.54;0.88), the probability was also smaller. CONCLUSIONS:The practice of PA was inversely associated with symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety.