Programa de Atividades Esportivas Extensivas à Comunidade-PAEC, Santo Amaro University, São Paulo 04829-300, Brazil.
Post-Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Santo Amaro University, Sao Paulo 04829-300, Brazil.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Mar 3;20(5):4494. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20054494.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least 150 min of moderate or vigorous activity (MVPA) per week for health benefits. However, meeting WHO guidelines for physical activity has been shown to be a great challenge for general populations and it may be even more difficult for undergraduate students due to elevated academic demand, thus negatively affecting general health status. Thus, this study investigated whether undergraduate students meeting WHO guidelines for physical activity show greater scores for symptoms of anxiety, depression, and poor quality of life than their counterparts not meeting guideline recommendations. Additionally, symptoms of anxiety, depression, and poor quality of life among academic areas were compared.
This is a cross-sectional study. The participants were recruited through messaging apps or institutional e-mail. The participants filled out an online consent form, questionnaires to assess demographic and academic characteristics, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, the Beck depression and anxiety inventory, and the short-form 36-item health survey questionnaire. The participants were classified as physically active (MVPA > 150 min/week) or inactive (MVPA < 150 min/week) according to WHO Guidelines.
A total of 371 individuals were included in the analysis. Physically inactive students demonstrated higher scores of depression (17.96 vs. 14.62; 95% CI: -5.81 to -0.86; = 0.0083) than physically active ones. SF-36 analyses revealed that physically inactive students had lower values in mental (45.68 vs. 52.77; 95% CI: 2.10 to 12.06; = 0.0054) and physical (59.37 vs. 67.14; 95% CI: 3.24 to 12.30; = 0.0015) domains compared with physically active ones. As for SF-36 subscales, physically inactive students showed lower scores in function capacity (70.45 vs. 79.70; 95% CI: 4.27 to 14.49; = 0.0003), mental health (45.57 vs. 55.60; 95% CI: 5.28 to 14.76; < 0.0001), social aspects (48.91 vs. 57.69; 95%CI: 3.47 to 14.08; = 0.0012), vitality (42.19 vs. 50.61; 95% CI: 3.47 to 13.35; = 0.0009), pain (61.85 vs. 68.00; 95% CI: 1.27 to 11.02; = 0.0135), and general health status (53.82 vs. 63.81; 95% CI: 5.21 to 14.75; < 0.0001) than their physically active peers.
The findings suggest that undergraduate students who do not meet WHO guidelines for physical activity display higher scores of anxiety, depression, and poor quality of life in comparison with their counterparts meeting physical activity guidelines. Collectively, these data suggest the need for academic institutions and policy makers to monitor and promote in-campus interventions to encourage physical activity.
世界卫生组织（WHO）建议每周进行至少 150 分钟的中等强度或剧烈强度的身体活动（MVPA），以获得健康益处。然而，对于普通人群来说，达到身体活动指南的要求已被证明是一项巨大的挑战，对于本科生来说可能更加困难，因为学业需求增加，从而对整体健康状况产生负面影响。因此，本研究调查了是否满足世界卫生组织身体活动指南的本科生比不符合指南建议的同龄人表现出更大的焦虑、抑郁和生活质量差的症状。此外，还比较了学术领域之间的焦虑、抑郁和生活质量症状。
这是一项横断面研究。通过消息应用程序或机构电子邮件招募参与者。参与者填写了在线同意书、问卷，以评估人口统计学和学术特征、国际体力活动问卷、贝克抑郁和焦虑量表以及简短形式 36 项健康调查问卷。参与者根据世界卫生组织指南被分类为活跃（MVPA > 150 分钟/周）或不活跃（MVPA < 150 分钟/周）。
共有 371 人纳入分析。不活跃的学生表现出更高的抑郁评分（17.96 与 14.62；95%置信区间：-5.81 至 -0.86； = 0.0083），比活跃的学生更高。SF-36 分析显示，不活跃的学生在心理（45.68 与 52.77；95%置信区间：2.10 至 12.06； = 0.0054）和身体（59.37 与 67.14；95%置信区间：3.24 至 12.30； = 0.0015）领域的得分较低，与活跃的学生相比。至于 SF-36 子量表，不活跃的学生在功能能力（70.45 与 79.70；95%置信区间：4.27 至 14.49； = 0.0003）、心理健康（45.57 与 55.60；95%置信区间：5.28 至 14.76； < 0.0001）、社会方面（48.91 与 57.69；95%置信区间：3.47 至 14.08； = 0.0012）、活力（42.19 与 50.61；95%置信区间：3.47 至 13.35； = 0.0009）、疼痛（61.85 与 68.00；95%置信区间：1.27 至 11.02； = 0.0135）和一般健康状况（53.82 与 63.81；95%置信区间：5.21 至 14.75； < 0.0001）的评分较低，与活跃的同龄人相比。
研究结果表明，与符合身体活动指南的同龄人相比，不满足世界卫生组织身体活动指南的本科生表现出更高的焦虑、抑郁和生活质量差的症状。总的来说，这些数据表明需要学术机构和政策制定者监测和促进校内干预措施，以鼓励身体活动。
