Wii Sports can help fight depression in elderly

The study found that exer-games, video games which combine game play with exercise, significantly perked up mood and mental health-related quality of life in seniors suffering from depression.

Wii is indeed more than just a game console. Recently, Bridgeport Hospital’s Rehabilitation Unit at Fairfield County, Connecticut, U.S., has introduced Wii as part of its inpatient therapy and observing good results.

Even injured U.S. soldiers are believed to be using the game console in Landstuhl and Germany to help them regain their strength.

Subsyndromal Depression (SSD)
According to DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, -IV edition), “subsyndromal depression” (SSD) is, “a useful, operational definition for minor depression based on no data whatsoever—it basically just lowers the threshold from major depression.”

Many seniors experience SSD which is associated with substantial suffering, functional disability and increased use of costly medical services. Patients with minor depression or SSD are at a higher risk for major depression than people who have no depression symptoms.

Lead author of the study, Dilip V. Jeste, MD, Professor of psychiatry and neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine (UCSD) AND Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging, said, "Depression predicts nonadherence to physical activity, and that is a key barrier to most exercise programs."

"Older adults with depression may be at particular risk for diminished enjoyment of physical activity, and therefore, more likely to stop exercise programs prematurely, " Jeste added.

Details of study
The scientists looked at 19 elderly aged between 63 to 94 years who played Nintendo Wii video games for 35 minutes, thrice a week.

The subjects reported enjoyment and high satisfaction from playing their choice of exer-games such as baseball, golf tennis, bowling, or boxing.

“More than one-third of the participants had a 50-percent or greater reduction of depressive symptoms," Jeste said in a statement. "Many had a significant improvement in their mental health-related quality of life and increased cognitive stimulation."

The findings of the study will appear in the March issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Overall the study showed promise that mixing exercise with video games could provide a novel treatment for depression among seniors.

However, Dr. Jeste warns that it was a pilot study, therefore, it should be reproduced using larger samples and control groups.