Associations of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity with psychological problems and suicidality in Chinese high school students: a cross-sectional study
Background The body of literature regarding the associations between physical activity and psychological problems lacks consensus. Moreover, the role of gender has been scarcely investigated. The present study sought to fill the gap in the data by examining the associations, if any, between moderate...
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PeerJ Inc.
2020-03-01
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/8775.pdf |
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| author | Mingli Liu Jie Zhang Kimberly E. Kamper-DeMarco Elwin Hu Shuqiao Yao |
| author_facet | Mingli Liu Jie Zhang Kimberly E. Kamper-DeMarco Elwin Hu Shuqiao Yao |
| author_sort | Mingli Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background The body of literature regarding the associations between physical activity and psychological problems lacks consensus. Moreover, the role of gender has been scarcely investigated. The present study sought to fill the gap in the data by examining the associations, if any, between moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), psychological problems, and self-harm behaviors based on different biological genders (male–female). Methods A self-administered questionnaire was used to measure MVPA and multiple psychological problems, including depression and anxiety; general emotion, behavior, and social problems; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD); conduct problems; and self-harm behaviors. Participants were a nationally representative sample of Chinese high school students (N = 13, 349). A multiple logistic regression analysis of MVPA, stratified by gender, was conducted on the risk of psychological problems and self-harm behaviors in the total sample. Results For boys, a high frequency of MVPA was associated with a lower risk of depression (OR = 0.68, 95% CI [0.57–0.81]) and anxiety (OR = 0.71, 95% CI [0.53–0.96]) compared to the reference group. The moderate frequency of MVPA was associated with a lower risk of ADHD (OR = 0.73, 95% CI [0.56–0.94]) compared to the reference group. For girls, both MVPA groups were associated with a lower risk of depression (moderate MVPA: OR = 0.81, 95% CI [0.70–0.94]; high MVPA: OR = 0.67, 95% CI [0.54–0.83]) compared to the reference group. High MVPA was associated with a lower risk of ADHD (OR = 0.58, 95% CI [0.37–0.89]) compared to the reference group. Only moderate frequency of MVPA was associated with a lower risk of ODD (OR = 0.79, 95% CI [0.64–0.97]). Conclusion MVPA was associated with a lower risk of depression, anxiety, ADHD, and ODD in a gender-specific and MVPA frequency-specific manner. This implies that for specific psychological issues, PA interventions that are modified based on gender and frequency of MVPA may be more effective than PA interventions without these considerations. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:29:57Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-66706980e040484c8e3b202407a31fe32023-12-03T11:07:25ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592020-03-018e877510.7717/peerj.8775Associations of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity with psychological problems and suicidality in Chinese high school students: a cross-sectional studyMingli Liu0Jie Zhang1Kimberly E. Kamper-DeMarco2Elwin Hu3Shuqiao Yao4Department of Psychology, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, Hunan, CountryDepartment of Sociology, State University of New York Buffalo State, Buffalo, NY, USADepartment of Psychology, State University of New York Buffalo State, Buffalo, NY, United States of AmericaSchool of Psychology, Counselling and Psychotherapy, Cairnmillar Institute, Hawthorn East, Victoria, AustraliaInstitute of Psychological Medicine, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, ChinaBackground The body of literature regarding the associations between physical activity and psychological problems lacks consensus. Moreover, the role of gender has been scarcely investigated. The present study sought to fill the gap in the data by examining the associations, if any, between moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), psychological problems, and self-harm behaviors based on different biological genders (male–female). Methods A self-administered questionnaire was used to measure MVPA and multiple psychological problems, including depression and anxiety; general emotion, behavior, and social problems; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD); conduct problems; and self-harm behaviors. Participants were a nationally representative sample of Chinese high school students (N = 13, 349). A multiple logistic regression analysis of MVPA, stratified by gender, was conducted on the risk of psychological problems and self-harm behaviors in the total sample. Results For boys, a high frequency of MVPA was associated with a lower risk of depression (OR = 0.68, 95% CI [0.57–0.81]) and anxiety (OR = 0.71, 95% CI [0.53–0.96]) compared to the reference group. The moderate frequency of MVPA was associated with a lower risk of ADHD (OR = 0.73, 95% CI [0.56–0.94]) compared to the reference group. For girls, both MVPA groups were associated with a lower risk of depression (moderate MVPA: OR = 0.81, 95% CI [0.70–0.94]; high MVPA: OR = 0.67, 95% CI [0.54–0.83]) compared to the reference group. High MVPA was associated with a lower risk of ADHD (OR = 0.58, 95% CI [0.37–0.89]) compared to the reference group. Only moderate frequency of MVPA was associated with a lower risk of ODD (OR = 0.79, 95% CI [0.64–0.97]). Conclusion MVPA was associated with a lower risk of depression, anxiety, ADHD, and ODD in a gender-specific and MVPA frequency-specific manner. This implies that for specific psychological issues, PA interventions that are modified based on gender and frequency of MVPA may be more effective than PA interventions without these considerations.https://peerj.com/articles/8775.pdfSexExerciseDepressionAnxietyADHDOppositional defiant |
| spellingShingle | Mingli Liu Jie Zhang Kimberly E. Kamper-DeMarco Elwin Hu Shuqiao Yao Associations of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity with psychological problems and suicidality in Chinese high school students: a cross-sectional study PeerJ Sex Exercise Depression Anxiety ADHD Oppositional defiant |
| title | Associations of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity with psychological problems and suicidality in Chinese high school students: a cross-sectional study |
| title_full | Associations of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity with psychological problems and suicidality in Chinese high school students: a cross-sectional study |
| title_fullStr | Associations of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity with psychological problems and suicidality in Chinese high school students: a cross-sectional study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Associations of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity with psychological problems and suicidality in Chinese high school students: a cross-sectional study |
| title_short | Associations of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity with psychological problems and suicidality in Chinese high school students: a cross-sectional study |
| title_sort | associations of moderate to vigorous physical activity with psychological problems and suicidality in chinese high school students a cross sectional study |
| topic | Sex Exercise Depression Anxiety ADHD Oppositional defiant |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/8775.pdf |
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