Association of Sedentary Behavior With Anxiety, Depression, and Suicide Ideation in College Students

A Potential Role for MAGI-1 in the Bi-Directional Relationship Between Major Depressive Disorder and Cardiovascular Disease

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is characterized by persistent symptoms such as fatigue, loss of interest in activities, feelings of sadness and worthlessness. MDD often coexist with cardiovascular disease (CVD), yet the precise link between these conditions remains unclear. This review explores factors underlying the development of MDD and CVD, including genetic, epigenetic, platelet activation, inflammation, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation, endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction, and blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption.

RECENT FINDINGS

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the membrane-associated guanylate kinase WW and PDZ domain-containing protein 1 (MAGI-1) are associated with neuroticism and psychiatric disorders including MDD. SNPs in MAGI-1 are also linked to chronic inflammatory disorders such as spontaneous glomerulosclerosis, celiac disease, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease. Increased MAGI-1 expression has been observed in colonic epithelial samples from Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis patients. MAGI-1 also plays a role in regulating EC activation and atherogenesis in mice and is essential for Influenza A virus (IAV) infection, endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced EC apoptosis, and thrombin-induced EC permeability. Despite being understudied in human disease; evidence suggests that MAGI-1 may play a role in linking CVD and MDD. Therefore, further investigation of MAG-1 could be warranted to elucidate its potential involvement in these conditions.

Associations between domains of sedentary behavior, well-being, and quality of life - a cross-sectional study

The importance of reducing sedentary behavior (SB) in the prevention of mortality and chronic and mental diseases is scientifically well grounded, but SB can be accumulated in diverse domains of life, such as leisure-time SB, transport between home/work/school when sitting (transport-related SB), or in occupational settings such as working or studying (occupational SB), and the associations for each domain of SB with well-being measures and quality of life are still underexplored from a positive perspective. Through a cross-sectional investigation, we collected data from 584 participants who completed a questionnaire throughout November 2021 and with Spearman correlation test, analysed the associations between SB in three different domains with psychological well-being, satisfaction with life, and quality of life. Our results indicated that after adjustment for physical activity, sex, body mass index, smoking history, chronic disease status, financial perception, quality/duration of sleep and university group, in younger adults (18 to 24 years old), leisure-time SB was negatively related to psychological well-being (rho = -0.255; p = 0.008), and in adults (25 to 64 years old), occupational SB was negatively related to satisfaction with life (rho = -0.257; p < .001) and the mental component of quality of life (rho = -0.163; p = 0.027). Our findings highlight the idea that not all SB is built the same and that future strategies to reduce SB from people's lives must target specific domains of SB according to the age group when aiming to improve well-being and quality of life.

Associations between levels of physical literacy and adherence to the 24-h movement guidelines among university students: A cross-sectional study

Objectives

Emerging evidence indicates that the composition of movement behaviours within a 24-h period is associated with multiple health benefits across the lifespan. A concept that emphasises an individual's active lifestyle is physical literacy (PL), yet empirical research exploring the potential associations between PL and 24-h movement guidelines remains scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the associations between levels of PL and adherence to the guidelines among Chinese university students.

Study design

A cross-sectional study.

Methods

Seven hundred and ninety-eight university students (390 male, 19.2 ± 1.2 years) completed all the measurements. Levels of PL and participants' adherence to guidelines including physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep were self-reported through Perceived Physical Literacy Instrument, International Physical Activity Questionnaire and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, respectively. Two-way ANOVA was conducted to determine the associations between the number of guidelines met (0, 1, 2, or 3) and levels of PL.

Results

The results demonstrate that 36.5% (n = 291) of the participants met all the three guidelines, while 4.1% (n = 33) met none. Further analysis indicated that meeting physical activity or sedentary behaviour guidelines was associated with significantly higher total PL scores, and scores in the sub-domains of Confidence and Physical Competence and Motivation.

Conclusions

The findings provide evidence that young adults who obtained higher PL scores may meet more guidelines during a 24-h period. Future studies should incorporate accelerometer-based physical activity measurements and investigate the causal relationship between PL and adherence to the movement guidelines.

Lessons and Untapped Potential of Smartphone-Based Physical Activity Interventions for Mental Health: Narrative Review

BACKGROUND

Physical activity has well-known and broad health benefits, including antidepressive and anxiolytic effects. However, only approximately half of Americans meet even the minimum exercise recommendations. Individuals with anxiety, depression, or related conditions are even less likely to do so. With the advent of mobile sensors and phones, experts have quickly noted the utility of technology for the enhanced measurement of and intervention for physical activity. In addition to being more accessible than in-person approaches, technology-driven interventions may uniquely engage key mechanisms of behavior change such as self-awareness.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to provide a narrative overview and specific recommendations for future research on smartphone-based physical activity interventions for psychological disorders or concerns.

METHODS

In this paper, we summarized early efforts to adapt and test smartphone-based or smartphone-supported physical activity interventions for mental health. The included articles described or reported smartphone-delivered or smartphone-supported interventions intended to increase physical activity or reduce sedentary behavior and included an emotional disorder, concern, or symptom as an outcome measure. We attempted to extract details regarding the intervention designs, trial designs, study populations, outcome measures, and inclusion of adaptations specifically for mental health. In taking a narrative lens, we drew attention to the type of work that has been done and used these exemplars to discuss key directions to build on.

RESULTS

To date, most studies have examined mental health outcomes as secondary or exploratory variables largely in the context of managing medical concerns (eg, cancer and diabetes). Few trials have recruited psychiatric populations or explicitly aimed to target psychiatric concerns. Consequently, although there are encouraging signals that smartphone-based physical activity interventions could be feasible, acceptable, and efficacious for individuals with mental illnesses, this remains an underexplored area.

CONCLUSIONS

Promising avenues for tailoring validated smartphone-based interventions include adding psychoeducation (eg, the relationship between depression, physical activity, and inactivity), offering psychosocial treatment in parallel (eg, cognitive restructuring), and adding personalized coaching. To conclude, we offer specific recommendations for future research, treatment development, and implementation in this area, which remains open and promising for flexible, highly scalable support.

Epigallocatechin-gallate attenuates rapamycin exacerbated high fat diet-induced autophagy, hormonal dysregulation, testicular and brain oxidative stress, and neurochemical changes in rats

This study investigated whether epigallocatechin-gallate (EGCG) could counteract the detrimental effects of high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity in rats exposed to rapamycin-induced reproductive and neuronal changes. Six rats per treatment group (n = 6) were utilized, in which groups 1 and 2 had dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) (0.1%) and EGCG (80 mg/kg) respectively. Group 3 received HFD + 0.1% DMSO daily for 56 days. Group 4 received HFD + rapamycin (1 mg/kg) orally for 56 days. Rats in group 5 received HFD for 56 days and EGCG (80 mg/kg, p.o.) from days 29-56. Group 6 received the combination of HFD + rapamycin (56 days) with EGCG (80 mg/kg) from days 29-56. Cognitive loss was assessed using Y-maze-test (YMT). Afterwards, serum sex hormones, insulin-glucose balance, serotonin concentration, acetylcholinesterase activity, sperm features, antioxidants, and the markers of oxido-nitrergic, autophagy and apoptotic mediators were assessed. EGCG reversed rapamycin exacerbated HFD-induced alterations in spermatogenesis, insulin-glucose balance, reproductive hormones, oxido-nitrergic stress, and altered serotonin, acetylcholinesterase levels, and autophagic and apoptotic activities in rats' testes and brains respectively. EGCG significantly attenuated HFD-induced cognitive loss. The study showed that EGCG attenuated rapamycin-mediated HFD-induced spermatogenesis deficiency and cognitive impairment via normalization of reproductive hormones, testicular and brain oxidative stress, apoptotic, autophagic activities, with serotonin and cholinergic levels in rats.

Association of habitual physical activity with depression and anxiety: a multicentre cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

Despite the known benefits of physical activity, the effect of habitual physical activity (HPA) on depression and anxiety remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association of HPA with the risk of depression and anxiety among Chinese adults, with the consideration of disease severity.

METHODS

The participants in this multicentre cross-sectional study were from the nationwide survey of the psychology and behaviour of Chinese residents. Depression and anxiety were measured using the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire and seven-item Generalised Anxiety Disorder scale. HPA was assessed by the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Crude and adjusted ORs with their 95% CIs were estimated by using ordinal logistic regression.

RESULTS

Of the 19 798 participants, 3901 (19.7%) had anxiety and 8914 (45.02%) had depression. Compared with inactive participants, depression risk in individuals reporting low, median and high volume HPA was reduced by 23% (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.66 to 0.89), 21% (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.90) and 13% (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.98), respectively, after adjustment for confounder. No significant association of HPA with anxiety risk was observed.

CONCLUSION

Participation in HPA, whether low, median or high volume, was associated with a lower risk of depression compared with inactive participation, while no significant association was observed between HPA and anxiety.

Unhealthy behaviors associated with mental health disorders: a systematic comparative review of diet quality, sedentary behavior, and cannabis and tobacco use

Background

There are well-established literatures documenting the associations between mental disorders and unhealthy behaviors such as poor diet quality, sedentary behavior, and cannabis and tobacco use. Few studies have attempted to understand the respective findings in light of each other, however.

Objective

The purpose of this review was to assemble comparable data for each behavior-disorder association and assess the associations in terms of their overall strength. The review aimed to include a representative, but not exhaustive, range of studies that would allow for explorative comparisons.

Methods

Eligible studies were identified via Pubmed searches and citation searching, restricted to publications no older than 2015 written in English. To obtain comparable data, only studies that reported findings as odds ratios were included, and risk of bias related to study samples, behavioral measurement disparities, and control variables was assessed via sensitivity analyses. Findings for each disorder were compared on the basis of different measures of central tendency.

Results

From 3,682 records, 294 studies were included. The review found evidence of associations between each of the four unhealthy behaviors and psychosis, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), while personality disorder was only investigated in relation to cannabis and tobacco use. In overall comparison, the associations were generally of similar strength, and only the association between cannabis use and personality disorder was exceptional in terms of being significantly stronger than its counterparts across disorders and across behaviors. Analyses of bias risk identified some influence from behavioral measurement disparities and lack of adequate statistical control, but findings were generally robust across a range of sensitivity analyses.

Conclusion

This explorative and comparative review found that poor diet quality, sedentary behavior, and cannabis and tobacco use are about equally strongly associated with a range of different mental disorders. Given the general nature of these associations, we should probably understand them to reflect a general and shared etiology. However, the findings in this review should be regarded as tentative until confirmed by more comprehensive investigations.

The association between different types of physical activity and smoking behavior

BACKGROUND

Smoking is harmful, which has become a major public health burden. Physical activity may be related to smoking. Physical activity is one of the current methods for smoking control and smoking cessation. Different types of physical activity may have different effect on smoking behavior.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to identify the direction and extent of the impact of different types of physical activity above moderate intensity (including work physical activity, recreational physical activity, commuter physical activity and sedentary behavior) on smoking behavior.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this study, a total of 2,015 individuals (1,233 males and 782 females, mean age 54.02±17.31 years) was selected from the representative population aged 20 and above in the National Health and Nutrition Survey of the United States from 2017 to 2018. Physical activity was assessed using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) ; the tobacco use questionnaire (SMQ) was used to determine whether the sample had smoking behavior at this stage. Binary Logistic regression analysis was performed with various physical activities as independent variables and smoking behavior as dependent variables. All data were analyzed through Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) 26.0.

RESULTS

After adjusted for all confounding variables, physical activity at work was close to significantly associated with smoking behavior (P=0.053), odds ratio (OR) =1.135 (95%Cl: 0.999-1.289). Recreational physical activity was significantly associated with smoking behavior (P < 0.001), OR=0.729 (95%Cl: 0.639-0.832). Commuting physical activity was significantly associated with smoking behavior (P < 0.001), OR=1.214 (95%Cl:1.048-1.405). Sedentary behavior was significantly associated with smoking behavior (P < 0.001), OR=1.363 (95%Cl: 1.154-1.611).

CONCLUSIONS

Given that different types of physical activity have different associations with smoking behavior. Therefore, when physical activity is used as a tobacco control measurement, it is necessary to pay attention to the type and environment of physical activity. Recreational physical activities should be appropriately increased, sedentary behavior should be reduced, and smoking prohibit environment should be expanded as far as possible to achieve better clinical intervention effects.

Relationship between Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior, Spinal Curvatures, Endurance and Balance of the Trunk Muscles-Extended Physical Health Analysis in Young Adults

BACKGROUND

Physical inactivity and sedentary behavior are associated with poor well-being in young people with adverse effects extending into adulthood. To date, there are many studies investigating the relationship between physical activity (PA) and posture, but there are no data on the relationship between the type and intensity of PA and sedentary behavior, their association with thoracic and lumbar spine angles, and with endurance and balance of the trunk muscles, especially in healthy young adults aged 18-25 years. Moreover, there are no data on the relationship between PA and sedentary behavior and musculoskeletal and cardiopulmonary health, as well as quality of life (QoL) and sleep that would provide a more comprehensive picture of physical health status.

AIM

Therefore, the aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the extent to which PA and sedentary behavior are associated with each other and with changes in spinal curvatures, endurance and balance of trunk muscles in an extended analysis of physical health status in young adults aged 18-25 years by additionally including measures of body composition, cardiorespiratory capacity, and QoL and sleep.

METHODS

A total of 82 students (58% female, 42% male) aged 18-25 years completed all required tests. Primary outcome measures included the following: PA and sedentary behavior calculated from the long form of International PA Questionnaire (IPAQ-LF), spinal curvatures measured by a Spinal Mouse® device, endurance and balance of the trunk muscles measured using trunk endurance tests and their ratio.

RESULTS

Overall, 50% of students were classified as minimally active and 50% as health-enhancing PA (HEPA) active. The angles of thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis showed no correlation with PA or time spent sitting. However, students with the lowest PA had significantly higher scores on the trunk extensor endurance test and trunk extensor/flexor endurance test ratio, indicating imbalanced trunk muscles. Moreover, these students spent the most their time sitting. Only PA of vigorous intensity and PA during recreation, leisure, and sports significantly correlated with QoL related to physical health. QoL related to physical and psychosocial health had significantly higher scores when students spent less time sitting. In addition, we found significantly better respiratory performance and SQ at higher PA values, i.e., PA during recreation, leisure, and sport.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that students with low PA levels and more time spent sitting have imbalanced trunk muscles, worse respiratory function, and poorer QoL and sleep. Moreover, these findings in college students may reflect their lifestyle and suggest that more PA needs to be promoted to prevent the development of chronic diseases including musculoskeletal disorders.

Attitudes towards Exercise, Leisure Activities, and Sedentary Behavior among Adults: A Cross-Sectional, Community-Based Study in Saudi Arabia

Background: Sedentary behavior has received increased attention as a threat to public health all around the world. A global effort has been made to avoid the spread of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) that are associated with poor lifestyle practices, which rely on public awareness. As a result, the purpose of this study was to analyze the attitudes toward exercise, leisure activities, and sedentary behaviour among adults in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among individuals living in the Riyadh Region in Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire (26 items) used in this study was divided into four sections, and the first section comprised demographic and basic information of the respondents (6 items). The second section asked the respondents about the time spent exercising and sedentary time spent (6 items), the third section of the study comprised eight questionnaires about the frequency of sedentary activity performed during their leisure time, and the last section was about the attitude towards sedentary behavior (6 items). Descriptive and analytical statistics were done to describe the study findings. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27. Results: The current findings revealed that 44% (n = 305) of the respondents performed exercise 1-2 days a week, and 16.7% (n = 116) never performed any exercise. Furthermore, a considerable percentage of the respondents spent >4 h in a day as sedentary. Most of the sedentary time was spent on work relating activities 62% (n = 430), followed by time spent on coffee 36.4% (n = 252), business relating activity 22.5% (n = 156), and social media 8.9% (n = 62). In this study, most of the respondents agreed that sitting for a prolonged time might negatively impact their health. Most of the respondents showed positive attitudes towards sedentary behavior. Males were statistically more likely than females to exercise 1-2 days per week (p < 0.001). Being male and being married were both significantly associated with sedentary behavior (p < 0.001). In addition, there was a significant association between participants' sleeping status and physical activity per week, where those who slept 5-6 h often performed physical activity, indicating a significant difference (p < 0.001) than respondents who slept 7-8 or >8 h. The participant's age was also found to have a significant association with engaging in physical exercise (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The results of this study showed that Saudi adults are highly sedentary and inactive, though knowing the harmful consequences of inactivity. Therefore, a national active living policy must be adopted to discourage inactivity and being sedentary and encourage active living in Saudi Arabia.

Linking sedentary behavior and mental distress in higher education: a cross-sectional study

Background

Sedentary behavior among university students could negatively affect their mental health.

Objective

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of mental health (anxiety and depression) and sedentary behavior between gender in Health Degrees at the University of Zaragoza.

Design

Cross-sectional descriptive study.

Participants

Sample of 257 University students who completed an online questionnaire.

Methods

Sedentary behavior was assessed with the SBQ questionnaire. Anxiety and depression were assessed with the GADS questionnaire. The Mann-Whitney U test and multiple linear regression models were used.

Results

In comparison to men, female students with symptoms of anxiety spend more time in total engaged in sedentary behaviors (10.56 ± 4.83) vs. (7.8 ± 3.28; p < 0.001) and mentally-passive sedentary activities [2.24 (1.57) vs. 1.15 (0.90; p < 0.005)]. Female students at risk of depression also spend more hours engaged in mentally-passive sedentary behaviors in comparison to men (8.28 ± 50.70 vs. 1.27 ± 1.02; p = 0.009).

Conclusion

Female students at risk of anxiety and/or depression spend more time engaged in sedentary activities in comparison to male students. The risk of anxiety and depression is associated with the total number of hours a day spent engaged in sedentary behaviors and with mentally passive behaviors, but not mentally active behaviors.

The persistence of stress-induced physical inactivity in rats: an investigation of central monoamine neurotransmitters and skeletal muscle oxidative stress

Introduction

Sedentary lifestyles have reached epidemic proportions world-wide. A growing body of literature suggests that exposures to adverse experiences (e.g., psychological traumas) are a significant risk factor for the development of physically inactive lifestyles. However, the biological mechanisms linking prior stress exposure and persistent deficits in physical activity engagement remains poorly understood.

Methods

The purpose of this study was twofold. First, to identify acute stress intensity thresholds that elicit long-term wheel running deficits in rats. To that end, young adult male rats were exposed to a single episode of 0, 50, or 100 uncontrollable tail shocks and then given free access to running wheels for 9 weeks. Second, to identify stress-induced changes to central monoamine neurotransmitters and peripheral muscle physiology that may be maladaptive to exercise output. For this study, rats were either exposed to a single episode of uncontrollable tail shocks (stress) or left undisturbed in home cages (unstressed). Eight days later, monoamine-related neurochemicals were quantified by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) across brain reward, motor, and emotion structures immediately following a bout of graded treadmill exercise controlled for duration and intensity. Additionally, protein markers of oxidative stress, inflammation, and metabolic activity were assessed in the gastrocnemius muscle by Western blot.

Results

For experiment 1, stress exposure caused a shock number-dependent two to fourfold decrease in wheel running distance across the entire duration of the study. For experiment 2, stress exposure curbed an exercise-induced increase of dopamine (DA) turnover measures in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, and augmented serotonin (5HT) turnover in the hypothalamus and remaining cortical area. However, stress exposure also caused several monoaminergic changes independent of exercise that could underlie impaired motivation for physical activity, including a mild dopamine deficiency in the striatal area. Finally, stress potently increased HSP70 and lowered SOD2 protein concentrations in the gastrocnemius muscle, which may indicate prolonged oxidative stress.

Discussion

These data support some of the possible central and peripheral mechanisms by which exposure to adverse experiences may chronically impair physical activity engagement.

Parental role and peer support in adolescent suicidal behavior in eight South-East Asian countries

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of suicidal behaviors, i.e. suicidal ideation (SI), suicidal plan (SP), and suicidal attempt (SA) among adolescents with a focus on parental and peer support in eight South-East Asian countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

METHOD

Data were drawn from Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) covering 42,888 adolescents aged 11-17 years. Weighted prevalence of SI, SP, and SA along with country specific prevalence was computed and binary logistic regression was used to identify associated risk factors.

RESULTS

Among 42,888 adolescents 19,113 (44.9 %) were males and 23,441 (55.1 %) females. Overall prevalence of SI, SP and SA is 9.10 %, 10.42 % and 8.54 %, respectively. Myanmar demonstrated the lowest SI (1.07 %) and SP (0.18 %) whereas lowest SA was found in Indonesia (3.79 %). Maldives had the highest prevalence of SI, SP and SA which were 14.13 %, 19.02 % and 13.38 % respectively. Overall suicidal behaviors were associated with being female [AOR:SI-1.26(1.06,1.50), SP-1.34(1.14,1.57),], high levels of sedentary behavior [AOR:SI-2.08(1.62,2.66), SP-1.86(1.49,2.32), SA-1.96(1.45,2.64)], involvement in physical fighting [AOR:SI-1.30(1.07,1.58), SP-1.37(1.14,1.65), SA-1.50(1.17,1.90)], being seriously injured [AOR:SI-1.40(1.17,1.67), SP-1.44(1.22,1.69), SA-1.74(1.39,2.17)], being bullied [AOR:SI- 1.68(1.39,2.02), SP-1.34(1.12,1.60), SA-1.88(1.50,2.36)], feeling lonely(most of time or always) [AOR:SI-3.41(2.60,4.46), SP-1.92(1.48,2.47), SA-2.25(1.62,3.13)], lack of parental support(never checking homework) [AOR:SI-1.59(1.25,2.02), SP-1.52(1.22,1.90)] and not having close friends [AOR:SI-2.19(1.66,2.89), SP-2.26(1.74,2.94), SA-4.23(3.10,5.78)].

CONCLUSION

Though prevalence of suicidal behaviors varies, a range of cross-cutting risk factors exists that warrant further examination. We recommend focusing on strengthening parental and peer support, targeted programs addressing physical activity, bullying, loneliness and mental-health of adolescents.

Does exercise participation promote happiness?: Mediations and heterogeneities

This paper uses a nationally representative and large-scale dataset from China to empirically examine the relationship between exercise participation and happiness. To address the problem of reverse causality between the two factors, the instrumental variable (IV) approach is used to deal with endogeneity to some extent. It is demonstrated that higher frequencies of exercise participation are positively related to happiness. Findings also demonstrate that physical exercise could significantly decrease depressive disorders, improves self-rated health conditions and reduces the frequency of health problems affecting people's work and life. At the same time, all of above health factors significantly influence subjective wellbeing. When these health variables are included in regressions, the correlation between exercise participation and happiness declines. This confirms that physical activity helps to improve happiness by enhancing mental and overall health conditions. In addition, results show that physical activities are more prominently related to happiness for male, older and unmarried individuals and those living in rural areas, lacking social security and with higher levels of depression as well as lower socioeconomic status. Furthermore, a series of robustness checks are carried out and exercise participation's positive role in improving happiness is further confirmed using different happiness measures and instrumental variables, various IV models, as well as penalized machine learning methods and placebo tests. With the increasing emphasis of improving happiness as an important goal in the global public health policy, findings of this paper have important policy implications for enhancing subjective wellbeing.

Associations between sedentary behavior and negative emotions in adolescents during home confinement: Mediating role of social support and sleep quality

Background

Prolonged periods of sedentary behaviour, for instance, engendered by home confinement in Shenzhen city, has led to negative mental health consequences, especially in adolescents. Previous research suggests, in general, that sedentary behavior can increase negative emotions. However, the specific mechanism driving the relationship between sedentary behavior and negative emotions is still relatively unclear. Social support and sleep quality might partly explain the effect of sedentary behavior on negative emotions. Thus, the current study aimed to examine the associations between sedentary behavior and negative emotions, and to investigate if social support and sleep quality mediate such a relationship.

Method

During home confinement due to the COVID-19 Omicron variant outbreak, 1179 middle and high school students in Shenzhen were invited to voluntarily complete an e-questionnaire, including the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF), the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Data from 1065 participants were included in the analysis.

Results

We observed significant sex-related and demografic-related differences in emotional (e.g., anxiety, stress and social support) and other outcome variables (e.g., sitting duration and PSQI score). Furthermore, sedentary behavior, social support, and sleep quality were associated with negative emotions (p < .01), even after controlling for sex, age, only-child case, body mass index, and metabolic equivalent level. In addition, social support and sleep quality partially mediated the association between sedentary behavior and negative emotions.

Conclusion

The findings of the current study suggest that social support and sleep quality partially mediate the relationship between sedentary behavior and negative emotions in middle and high school students during home confinement in Shenzhen city.

Screen-based sedentary behaviors but not total sedentary time are associated with anxiety among college students

Objective

The purpose of the study was to investigate the associations of device-measured total sedentary time and screen-based sedentary time with anxiety in college students.

Methods

Three hundred and twenty-one college students (mean age = 19.72 ± 1.18, 55.8% females) were recruited from Shanghai, China. Total sedentary time was objectively measured using accelerometry, while screen-based sedentary time was self-reported. Anxiety symptom was evaluated using the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale. Linear regression modeling was used to assess the associations of total sedentary time and screen-based sedentary time with anxiety symptom.

Results

Accelerometer-assessed total sedentary time was not associated with anxiety symptom. Prolonged sedentary time on TV and movie viewing (>2 h on weekdays) and social media using (>2 h on weekdays and weekend) were associated with a higher level of anxiety. However, time on video gaming and recreational reading was not associated with anxiety symptom.

Conclusion

The findings indicated that screen-based sedentary behaviors but not total sedentary time were associated with anxiety symptom among college students. The associations of screen-based sedentary behaviors with anxiety symptom varied by the types of screen time.

Epidemiological Study of Physical Activity, Negative Moods, and Their Correlations among College Students

OBJECTIVE

Negative moods in college students have caused frequent extreme behaviors. This study analyzed the current status and correlation between physical activity and negative moods in college students.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study design was used in the present research. Data on college students' physical activity and negative moods were collected using the Sports Questionnaire Star software. The questionnaires were administered to college students in five colleges and universities in Henan and Jiangsu Provinces, China, and a total of 3711 correctly completed questionnaires were returned. Data on sociological and demographic information, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF), and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) were collected. The research was conducted in December 2021.

RESULTS

The low-intensity physical activity rate among college students was 55.56%, while depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms were detected in 35.14%, 65.29%, and 10.99%of the college students, respectively. Depression (K = 35.58, p < 0.001) and anxiety (K = 15.56, p < 0.001) rates were significantly different among the different physical activity intensity groups. The proportion of students who perform high-intensity physical activities was lower than those who perform low- and moderate-intensity physical activities.

CONCLUSION

Low physical activity and high anxiety are evident among college students, and prolonged moderate-to-low-intensity physical activity (including static behavior) induces depression and anxiety. In the future, further studies can be conducted on improving the physical activity intensity of college students, improving the mental health monitoring and intervention systems of college students, and exploring the dose-effect relationship between physical activity and negative moods.

Movement behaviours and anxiety symptoms in Chinese college students: A compositional data analysis

In the current research, sleep duration, sedentary behaviour, physical activity, and their relationship with several anxiety symptoms among college students were examined. This study was a cross-sectional study, and study respondents were recruited from college students. A total of 1,475 of college students were included for analysis. Sedentary behaviours and physical activity were assessed by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form, while sleep duration was assessed by the Chinese version Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. To assess the anxiety symptoms of study respondents, the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 was used. The compositional data was analysed in R to estimate the associations between replacements among physical activities, sedentary behaviours, and sleep and anxiety symptoms. Results indicated a greater impact was imposed on the alleviation of anxiety symptoms by substituting sedentary behaviours with physical activity at moderate to vigorous intensity. In the current research, the significance of moderate to vigorous physical activity should be highlighted in preventing anxiety among Chinese college students.

Exposure to black carbon is associated with symptoms of depression: A retrospective cohort study in college students

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have revealed a significant association of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) with emotional disorders. However, as a crucial component of PM_2.5, little is known about the potential effect of exposure to black carbon (BC) on the symptoms of depression and anxiety.

OBJECTIVES

To explore the associations of long-term exposure to BC during the past six years with the current symptoms of depression and anxiety in a group of incoming college students.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort study of incoming students in five universities of China. Symptoms of depression and anxiety during the past two weeks were measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-2 (GAD-2), respectively. Levels of BC and other environmental factors during 2013 ∼ 2018 (six years prior to the recruitment) was obtained from public repositories and linked to individual data by home addresses. Averagely daily dose of BC exposure was estimated according to the respiratory rate. Demographic and behavioral variables were collected through a questionnaire. The associations of BC with symptoms of depression and anxiety were estimated by mixed linear models adjusting for socioeconomic and behavioral characteristics, and the principal components of multiple environmental exposures. Subgroup analysis was conducted to assess the effect modification by covariates. Overall effect of environmental mixture was evaluated by weighted quantile sum (WQS) and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR).

RESULTS

A total of 20,079 participants was included in the current study. After adjustment for covariates, long-term BC exposure was significantly associated with symptoms of depression (β = 0.17, P < 0.001) but not anxiety (β = 0.07, P = 0.125). Effect modification by sex and parental educational level: BC was correlated with depressive symptoms in women (β = 0.23, P < 0.001) but not in men (β = 0.04, P = 0.581), and higher educational level was associated with decreased effect sizes of BC. Sensitivity analysis showed that the acute and short-term effects of BC on depression was consistent with its long-term exposure (β varied from 0.18 to 0.20). WQS identified BC as the primary pollutant in association with symptoms of depression but not anxiety. BKMR identified no significant interaction between BC and other exposures.

CONCLUSION

Exposure to BC is associated with symptoms of depression but not anxiety in college students, and the relationship is modified by sex and education.

Association of Sedentary Behavior and Physical Activity with Depression in Sport University Students

BACKGROUND

Sports university students are usually expected to lead an active life and have a lower risk of depression. Therefore, there are few studies on depression and its risk factors among this population. This study aimed to investigate depression and its association with sedentary behavior and physical activity in sports university students.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among undergraduates majoring in physical education in a sports university in Beijing in March 2021. Students were asked about sociodemographic information, domain-specific sedentary behavior, physical activity, and depression (using a nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire). Chi-squared test and logistic regression were carried out to analyze the data.

RESULTS

Among a total of 584 participants, the detection rate of depression was 49.1%. The median of total sedentary time was 7.29 h per day. After adjusting for covariates, recreational screen time (OR = 1.540, p = 0.035), sedentary time spent completing schoolwork (OR = 0.658, p = 0.038), and participation in vigorous physical activity everyday (OR = 0.415, p = 0.001) and a few times per week (OR = 0.423, p < 0.001) were significantly associated with depression.

CONCLUSIONS

Sports university students are not immune to depression and inactive lifestyles. Excessive recreational screen time may have an adverse effect on depression, which is somewhat independent of physical activity.

Effects of an Existential Nursing Intervention for College Students in the COVID-19 Pandemic Situation

This study designed an intervention based on logo-autobiography to reduce Korean college students' stress and depression and help them find meaning in their lives amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. A quasi-experimental design was used to conduct group interventions among college students. A total of 22 and 26 participants were included in the experimental and control groups, respectively. The experimental group received six sessions of a logo-autobiography for college students (LAC). The effects of the LAC interventions were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and four weeks after the program's end to determine their retention rate. The effects of group, time, and the group-by-time interaction were verified using generalized estimating equations with an autoregressive correlation structure. The experimental group exhibited significantly lower levels of stress and depression and higher levels concerning the meaning of life than the control group. However, only the effects on stress and the meaning of life continued four weeks after the intervention's end. Based on this study's results, LAC can be considered a useful method for reducing stress and depression in college students who have just started their adult life, as well as for aiding them in their pursuit for the meaning of life.