Lower Daily Walking Volume and Less Walking at Intermediate and Higher Cadences in Older Women with Clinician-Diagnosed Major Depressive Disorder: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study

Background/Objectives: Late-life depression is associated with reduced physical activity, but evidence is limited regarding objectively measured weekday walking volume and cadence distribution in older women with clinician-diagnosed major depressive disorder (MDD). This exploratory study compared daily walking between an MDD group and an age-comparable comparison group and examined the post hoc within-sample discrimination of two cadence-based ratios. Methods: Forty women aged 60–93 years (mean age, 71.8 ± 9.7 years) were classified into an MDD group (n = 20) and an age-comparable comparison group without a documented depressive-disorder diagnosis (n = 20). Current depressive symptoms were quantified using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and free-living ambulatory activity was measured over three weekdays using StepWatch 3 monitors. Total instrumented-leg steps were recalculated as the sum of the low-, intermediate-, and higher-cadence step counts from the same three weekday summaries. The feasibility-based sample was analyzed using an exploratory MANOVA with SPSS-based assumption checks, Holm-adjusted follow-up tests, partial eta-squared effect sizes, and post hoc exploratory ROC analyses. Results: The multivariate group difference was significant (Pillai’s trace = 0.407, F (8,31) = 2.656, p = 0.024, partial η2 = 0.407). After Holm adjustment, the MDD group demonstrated lower total instrumented-leg steps, fewer intermediate- and higher-cadence walking minutes, fewer intermediate-cadence instrumented-leg steps, and a lower Peak Activity Index; the higher-cadence step-count difference did not remain significant after multiplicity adjustment. The Intermediate + Higher-Cadence Step Ratio showed an AUC of 0.828 (95% CI: 0.701–0.954), and the Intermediate + Higher-Cadence Minutes Ratio showed an AUC of 0.818 (95% CI: 0.684–0.951). Conclusions: In this exploratory cross-sectional sample, lower weekday walking volume and less walking at intermediate and higher cadences were observed in the MDD group. These sample-derived discriminatory findings are not diagnostic and require independent validation.