Association of mentally-active and mentally-passive sedentary behaviour with depressive symptoms among adolescents

The role of sleep in prospective associations between parent reported youth screen media activity and behavioral health

BACKGROUND

Screen media activity (SMA) can negatively affect youth behavioral health. Sleep may mediate this association but has not been previously explored. We examined whether sleep mediated the association between SMA and youth behavioral health among a community sample.

METHOD

Parents completed questions about their child (N = 564) ages 3-17 at Wave 1, Wave 2 (4-8 months later), and Wave 3 (12 months later). Path analyses were conducted to examine links between Wave 1 SMA and Wave 3 behavioral health problems (i.e., internalizing, externalizing, attention, peer problems) through Wave 2 sleep disturbance and duration.

RESULTS

SMA was significantly associated with greater sleep disturbance, β = .11, 95% CI [.01, .21] and shorter sleep duration, β = -.16 [-.25, -.06], and greater sleep disturbance was associated with worse youth behavioral health across internalizing, β = .14 [.04, .24], externalizing, B = .23 [.12, .33], attention, β = .24 [.15, .34], and peer problems, β = .25 [.15, .35]. Longer sleep duration was associated with more externalizing, β = .13 [.04, .21], and attention problems, β = .12 [.02, .22], and fewer peer problems, β = -.09 [-.17, -.01], but not with internalizing problems. Lastly, there was a direct effect of SMA on peer problems, β = -.15 [-.23, -.06] such that higher SMA that does not impact sleep may have a positive impact on reducing peer problems.

CONCLUSIONS

Sleep (i.e., disturbances and shorter duration) may partially account for the small associations observed between SMA and worse behavioral health in youth. To continue expanding our understanding, future research should utilize more diverse representative samples, use objective measures of SMA and sleep, and examine other relevant aspects of SMA, including content, device type, and timing of use.

Development and validity of a mentally-passive and mentally-active sedentary time questionnaire in nursing college students

Objective

This study aimed to develop and validate a questionnaire to evaluate nursing college students' mentally-passive and mentally-active sedentary time (M-PAST) in China.

Methods

An initial M-PAST questionnaire with mentally-passive and mentally-active sedentary behaviors was developed with content validity undertaken through a consensus panel and pilot test where a convenience sample of six nursing students was recruited to assess the relevance, comprehensiveness, and comprehensibility of the refined questionnaire after expert panelists' responses. A cross-sectional online survey using a self-reported questionnaire was distributed to nursing students by email and then conducted using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to assess the construct validity of the M-PAST questionnaire and factor structures. Finally, the criterion validity was examined by exploring the associations between the M-PAST and the IPAQ sitting time, psychological distress, and insomnia.

Results

Eight items regarding learning and leisure were included in the final version of the M-PAST questionnaire. A group of 650 nursing college students in China completed the study. Principal component analysis revealed two factors (i.e., mentally-passive and mentally-active sedentary behaviors), which explained 41.98% of the variance contributing to the questionnaire. The CFA reached the adaptive standard. Cronbach's α ranged from 0.730 to 0.742. The correlations between M-PAST and IPAQ total sitting time were significant (p < 0.01, r = 0.125-0.396). Mentally-passive sedentary time was associated with psychological distress and insomnia (p < 0.01, r = 0.078-0.163), while no significant associations were found in mentally-active sedentary behaviors.

Conclusion and implications for practice

The M-PAST questionnaire appears to be a reliable and valid tool that reported both mentally-passive and mentally-active sedentary behaviors in nursing college students in China. However, future studies may need to further examine its validity among international nursing college students. This study further confirmed that mentally-passive sedentary behavior was positively associated with psychological distress and insomnia. Effective strategies are needed to reduce nursing college students' mentally-passive sedentary time to improve their health and wellbeing in China.

Associations between 24-h movement behaviors and self-rated health: a representative sample of school-aged children and adolescents in Okinawa, Japan

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to determine the associations between adherence to 24-h movement behavior guidelines and self-rated health (SRH) among Japanese adolescents according to their age group.

STUDY DESIGN

This was a cross-sectional study.

METHODS

Probability proportional sampling data, which were collected from six regions of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, considering the number of schools, included 2408 fifth-grade students (aged 10-11 years) in 31 elementary schools and 4360 eighth-grade students (aged 13-14 years) in 30 junior high schools. SRH, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), screen time (ST), sleep duration, and confounding factors (sex, weight status, family affluence, parental support, school satisfaction, and school demands) were self-reported.

RESULTS

The logistic regression models showed that adherence to ST and sleep recommendations in elementary school students was associated with a high prevalence of good health only, whereas adherence to only MVPA, only sleep, ST and sleep, MVPA and sleep, and all three recommendations were associated with a high prevalence of good health among junior high school students. All combinations that included achievement of the recommended sleep duration were associated with SRH.

CONCLUSIONS

Achieving 24-h movement behavior guidelines, particularly sleep recommendations, is associated with better perceived health in school-aged children, especially in adolescents.

Poor Agreement between Responses to the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and Objective ActiGraph® Data among Persons with Major Depressive or Bipolar Disorders

The purpose of this research was to investigate the degree of agreement between data from the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ) and accelerometer (ActiGraph^®) readings for physical activity (PA), classified as moderate, vigorous, and moderate-vigorous PA, and sedentary behavior (SB) in participants with major depressive or bipolar disorder. Following a cross-sectional observational design (n = 30), participants used an accelerometer for 4 to 7 days (minimum of 10 h per day) and answered the IPAQ (for the same period as accelerometer use). Our results suggest significant differences (p < 0.05) when comparing the ActiGraph^® and IPAQ data: for moderate PA, 155 min vs. 25 min per week; for moderate-vigorous PA, 157 min vs. 50 min per week; and for SB, 8 h vs. 3 h per day. Spearman's correlation coefficients (ActiGraph^® and IPAQ) were low for moderate PA, vigorous PA, and moderate-vigorous PA (rho = 0.03 to 0.13). The Bland-Altman plot showed a bias of -75 min for moderate PA, 9 min for vigorous PA, -66 min for moderate-vigorous PA, and -5 h for SB. Considering the differences observed and the objectivity of the ActiGraph^® measurements, whenever possible, we recommend ActiGraph^® measurements of PA and SB for these clinical groups.

Associations of Passive and Active Screen Time With Psychosomatic Complaints of Adolescents

INTRODUCTION

Increased screen time is a ubiquitous part of adolescent life and is adversely associated with their well-being. However, it remains unclear whether different types of screen time have equivalent associations, or if relationships are dose-dependent.

METHODS

The data were from 2 nationally representative Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (2010, 2014) surveys across 44 European and North American countries. Psychosomatic health was assessed using 8 complaints and dichotomized as high or low. Discretionary time spent on passive (e.g., TV) and mentally active (e.g., electronic games, computer use) screen-based activities was categorized into 3 groups. Data were analyzed in 2021.

RESULTS

The study included 414,489 adolescents (average age, 13.6 [SD=1.63] years; 51.1% girls). Multilevel modeling showed that psychosomatic complaints increased monotonically once all forms of screen time exceeded 2 hours/day. Adolescents reporting high (>4 hours/day) TV time, compared with those reporting low (≤2 hours/day), had higher odds of reporting psychosomatic complaints with 67% higher odds (OR=1.67, 95% CI=1.62, 1.72) in boys and 71% (OR=1.71, 95% CI=1.66, 1.75) in girls. High electronic game use was associated with psychosomatic complaints, with odds being 78% higher in boys (OR=1.78, 95% CI=1.73, 1.84) and 88% higher in girls (OR=1.88, 95% CI=1.82, 1.94). Similar associations were found between computer use and psychosomatic complaints.

CONCLUSIONS

Passive and mentally active screen time are adversely associated with psychosomatic complaints in a dose-dependent manner, with associations slightly stronger for active than passive screen time. This study supports limiting any type of screen time, either passive or active, to 2 hours/day to foster well-being.