Low sports participation is associated with withdrawn and depressed symptoms in urban, school-age children

Participation in organised sport to improve and prevent adverse developmental trajectories of at-risk youth: A systematic review

Background

Healthy after-school activities such as participation in organised sport have been shown to serve as important resources for reducing school failure and other problem/high-risk behaviour. It remains to be established to what extent organised sport participation has positive impacts on young people in unstable life circumstances.

Objectives

What are the effects of organised sport on risk behaviour, personal, emotional and social skills of young people, who either have experienced or are at-risk of experiencing an adverse outcome?

Search Methods

The database searches were carried out in March 2023 and other sources were searched in May 2023. We searched to identify both published and unpublished literature.

Selection Criteria

The intervention was participation in leisure time organised sport. Young people between 6 and 18 years of age, who either have experienced or are at-risk of experiencing an adverse outcome were eligible. Primary outcomes were problem/high-risk behaviour and a secondary outcomes social and emotional outcomes. Studies that used a control group were eligible for. Studies that utilised qualitative approaches were not.

Data Collection and Analysis

The number of potentially relevant studies was 43,716. Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Only seven studies could be used in the data synthesis. Five studies were judged to have a critical risk of bias and were excluded from the meta-analysis. One study did not report data that enabled the calculation of effect sizes and standard errors. Meta-analyses were conducted on each conceptual outcome separately. All analyses were inverse variance weighted using random effects statistical models.

Main Results

Two studies were from Canada, one from Australia, and the remaining from the USA. The timespan of the interventions was 23 years, from 1995 to 2018. The median number of participants analysed was 316, and the median number of controls was 452. A number of primary outcomes were reported but each in a single study only. Concerning secondary outcomes, two studies reported the effect on overall psychosocial adjustment at post-intervention. The standardised mean difference was 0.70 (95% CI 0.28-1.11). There was a small amount of heterogeneity. Three studies reported on depressive symptoms at 0-3 years follow-up. The standardised mean difference was 0.02 (95% CI -0.01 to 0.06). There was no heterogeneity between the three studies. In addition, a number of other secondary outcomes were reported each in a single study only.

Authors' Conclusions

There were too few studies included in the meta-analyses in order for us to draw any conclusion. The dominance of Northern America clearly limiting the generalisability of the findings. The majority of the studies were not considered to be of overall high quality and the process of excluding studies with critical risk of bias from the meta-analysis applied in this review left us with only 7 of a total of 13 possible studies to synthesise. Further, because too few studies reported results on the same type of outcome, at most three studies could be combined in a particular meta-analysis and no meta-analysis could be performed on any of the primary outcomes.

Interactions between genetic risk for 21 neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders and sport activity on youth mental health

Childhood is a sensitive period where behavioral disturbances, determined by genetics and environmental factors including sport activity, may emerge and impact risk of mental illness in adulthood. We aimed to determine if participation in sports can mitigate genetic risk for neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in youth. We analyzed 4975 unrelated European youth (ages 9-10) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. Our outcomes were eight Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) scores, measured annually. Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) were calculated for 21 disorders, and sport frequency and type were summarized. PRSs and sport variables were tested for main effects and interactions against CBCL outcomes using linear models. Cross-sectionally, PRSs for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and major depressive disorder were associated with increases in multiple CBCL outcomes. Participation in non-contact or team sports, as well as more frequent sport participation reduced all cross-sectional CBCL outcomes, whereas involvement in contact sports increased attention problems and rule-breaking behavior. Interactions revealed that more frequent exercise was significantly associated with less rule breaking behavior in individuals with high genetic risk for obsessive compulsive disorder. Associations with longitudinal CBCL outcomes demonstrated weaker effects. We highlight the importance of genetic context when considering sports as an intervention for early life behavioural problems.

Youth Sport Participation Experiences From the Perspective of Hispanic/Latinx Parents and Their Children

Hispanic/Latinx communities remain an underserved population in terms of health and physical activity opportunities. The rise of sport specialization can jeopardize these opportunities. Understanding the appeal and welcomeness that minoritized populations feel toward sport and sport specialization culture can play an important role in health promotion and breaking down barriers that widen the gap on physical activity levels in Hispanic/Latinx communities. To date, these studies have not qualitatively investigated Hispanic/Latinx youth sport dyads (parent and child) and how sport specialization perceptions have affected their sport participation experiences. We used a qualitative interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore experiences of Hispanic/Latinx high school athletes. We engaged in semistructured interviews with 12 parent-child dyads. The following 3 interrelated themes emerged: (a) expectations of youth sport participation, (b) meeting expectations of youth sport participation, (c) and (mis)alignment of cultures. Dyads describe a negative youth sport experience when both cultures do not align because of the rise in sport specialization and pay-to-play culture. Findings indicate that dyads understand what is necessary to participate in organized sport and do this by methods that are rooted in their Hispanic/Latinx culture.

The Role of Physical Education in Preventing Unhealthy Lifestyles in Immigrant Adolescents

In recent years, migratory phenomena have changed the composition of Spanish society. There are many studies that explore the healthy habits of young adolescents, but few focus on young immigrants. The purpose of this study is to examine the causal relationships between certain factors that influence the health of immigrant youth and sports. The sample consisted of 173 students enrolled in secondary education in the city of Cuenca. The structural model confirms the relationship between the latent variables and sports. Specifically, we obtained a positive influence of an active lifestyle (regular physical activity and exercise) and a negative influence for the remaining variables (alcohol consumption, unhealthy foods, self-medication and tobacco consumption in the family). Physical education should promote healthy lifestyles; greater coordination between physical education and other subjects involved in education and the promotion of health are necessary because we consider that this task is not exclusive to physical education.

What Affects Sports Participation and Life Satisfaction Among Urban Residents? The Role of Self-Efficacy and Motivation

As a result of the global pandemic, new awareness and perceptions of physical and mental health are changing. How to promote people's participation in sports to improve their physical fitness and how to increase their life satisfaction are urgent issues for attention. This study is aimed to discover the mechanisms that influence sports participation and life satisfaction among urban residents, focusing on the role of self-efficacy and motivation. A questionnaire survey on sports participation of Shanghai residents in China found that self-efficacy significantly and positively influenced sports participation; sports participation significantly and positively influenced life satisfaction; and motivation positively influenced sports participation and mediated between self-efficacy and sports participation, but sports participation did not mediate between self-efficacy and life satisfaction. Therefore, it is important to enhance people's self-confidence in sports participation and establish the concept of sports for all people, so as to strengthen people's motivation to participate in sports, and to guide people to exercise actively through national fitness, so that more people can be happy in sports.

Changes in psychosocial functioning among urban, school-age children during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

There is concern about the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychosocial functioning among school-age children, who have faced unusual stressors during this time. Our goal was to assess mental health symptoms and social risks during COVID-19, compared to before the pandemic, for urban, racial and ethnic minority school-age children, and investigate the relationship between mental health and social risks.

METHODS

We conducted a cohort study from September 2019 until January 2021 of children age 5-11 years old recruited from an urban safety net hospital-based pediatric primary care practice. We measured emotional and behavioral symptoms (including attention, internalizing, and externalizing symptoms) before and during the pandemic with the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC-17). We measured social risks (including food and housing insecurity) before and during the pandemic with the THRIVE screener. We measured additional mid-pandemic COVID-related stressors with items on school participation, screens/media use, illness exposure, and caregiver mental health. We compared pre- and mid-pandemic PSC-17 symptom scores across 4 domains (total, attention, internalizing, and externalizing) and used path analysis to examine the relationship between mental health and social risks pre- and mid-pandemic.

RESULTS

Caregivers of 168 children (54% non-Hispanic Black, 29% Hispanic, and 22% non-English speaking) completed the study. Children had significantly higher levels of emotional and behavioral symptoms midpandemic- vs. pre-pandemic in all domains. Significantly more children had a positive PSC-17 total score (18% vs. 8%, p < 0.01) and internalizing (depression and anxiety) score (18% vs. 5%, p < 0.001) during the pandemic vs. before, indicating clinical concerns in these areas. Caregivers reported significantly more social risks during vs. before the pandemic (p < 0.001). Mental health symptoms significantly correlated with number of social risks before the pandemic, but not during the pandemic. Less school assignment completion, increased screen time, and caregiver depression were all significantly associated with worse mid-pandemic mental health in children.

CONCLUSION

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic increase in depression/anxiety problems and social risks among urban, racial and ethnic minority school-age children compared to before the pandemic. More research is needed to understand if these changes will persist.

Parents' Perspectives on Adaptive Sports in Children with Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities

Children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) need adaptations to participate in sports and it is more difficult for them to access these activities. We investigated the effects of adaptive sports in children with PIMD as perceived by their parents. The parents answered a postal questionnaire exploring the effects of adaptive sports during the 3 days following an activity. The questionnaire explored twelve domains of children’s daily lives, such as sleep and appetite. We calculated a composite score, including all of these domains, to assess whether the children globally benefited from adaptive sports. Of the families, 27/63 responded (participation 42.9%). Four domains improved after the sports activity in an important proportion of children (improvement in 64.0% of children for wellbeing, 57.6% for mood, 56.0% for comfort and 48.1% for sleep). Among the majority of children, the other eight domains remained mostly stable. Three quarters of parents reported a globally positive effect of adapted physical activities on their child. These findings support the further development and provision of adaptive sports for children with severe neurological impairments.

Blood Microsampling to Monitor Metabolic Profiles During Physical Exercise

Monitoring approaches and technical improvements are key factors to improve a sportsman’s health, training, and recovery after an injury. In this study, a targeted metabolomics approach using microsampling with hemaPEN^® was developed to measure changes in blood concentrations of nine amino acids and four organic acids before, during, and after exercise. The aim of this research project was to investigate if a reliable monitoring of metabolite levels during sports activity can be achieved by collecting one drop of whole blood at different time points. A hemaPEN device is an easy-to-use and noninvasive microsampling technique designed to collect four accurate and precise blood volumes simultaneously (10.96 µl). Twenty healthy volunteers between 19 and 30 years of age were included in this study. Physical activity consisted in running as fast as possible 1,600 m after 400 m warm-up. One drop of blood was collected at five time points: before exercise, after 800-m running, after 1,600 m, and 30 min and 60 min after finishing the exercise. The influence of physical activity on metabolite levels was evaluated using two ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) methods. Analytical performance criteria such as metabolite stability, method precision, trueness, and accuracy were found to be satisfactory. Expected significant metabolic changes were identified for lactic acid, main TCA cycle intermediates, and some amino acids (e.g., creatinine, choline, and taurine). This preliminary study performed on a small cohort demonstrated a high interest of using microsampling for fluxomics analysis, not only to collect quickly and easily biological samples during sports events but also because it is much easier to store and to process the samples than classical plasma/serum samples obtained by venipuncture. The present results open new avenue for fluxomics analysis in the context of health care.