Department of Preventive Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Veterans Medical Research Institute, Veterans Health Service Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
J Prev Med Public Health. 2023 Nov;56(6):552-562. doi: 10.3961/jpmph.23.313. Epub 2023 Nov 15.
Adolescents who engage in unhealthy behaviors are particularly vulnerable to anxiety. We hypothesized that participation in physical activity could influence the relationship between anxiety and unhealthy behaviors in adolescents. These behaviors include smoking, alcohol consumption, and unsafe sexual activity.
This study included 50 301 students from the first year of middle school to the third year of high school, all from Korea. The unhealthy adolescent behaviors examined included current alcohol consumption, current smoking, and unsafe sexual behavior. Anxiety levels were assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 questionnaire (GAD-7).
The participants had a mean age of 15.19 years and an average GAD-7 score of 4.23. No significant differences were observed in GAD-7 score among exercising participants when categorized by smoking status (p=0.835) or unsafe sexual behavior (p=0.489). In contrast, participants in the non-exercise group who engaged in these behaviors demonstrated significantly higher GAD-7 scores (p<0.001 and 0.016, respectively). The only significant interaction was found between unsafe sexual behavior and exercise (p=0.009). Based on logistic regression analysis, within the non-exercise group, significant positive associations were observed between current smoking and anxiety (odds ratio [OR], 1.36; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18 to 1.57), as well as between unsafe sexual behavior and anxiety (OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.73). However, within the exercise group, no significant association was found between anxiety and either smoking or unsafe sexual behavior. Furthermore, no significant interaction was observed between unhealthy behaviors and exercise.
These findings are insufficient to conclude that physical activity influences the relationship between unhealthy behaviors and anxiety.
参与不健康行为的青少年特别容易焦虑。我们假设，体育活动的参与可能会影响青少年焦虑与不健康行为之间的关系。这些行为包括吸烟、饮酒和不安全的性行为。
本研究纳入了来自韩国初中一年级至高中三年级的 50301 名学生。所研究的青少年不健康行为包括当前饮酒、当前吸烟和不安全的性行为。使用广泛性焦虑障碍-7 问卷（GAD-7）评估焦虑水平。
参与者的平均年龄为 15.19 岁，平均 GAD-7 得分为 4.23。在按吸烟状况（p=0.835）或不安全性行为（p=0.489）分类的情况下，锻炼组的 GAD-7 评分没有差异。相比之下，参与这些行为的非锻炼组的参与者的 GAD-7 评分明显更高（p<0.001 和 0.016）。仅发现不安全性行为和锻炼之间存在显著的交互作用（p=0.009）。基于逻辑回归分析，在非锻炼组中，当前吸烟与焦虑之间存在显著的正相关（比值比 [OR]，1.36；95%置信区间 [CI]，1.18 至 1.57），不安全性行为与焦虑之间也存在显著的正相关（OR，1.33；95%CI，1.02 至 1.73）。然而，在锻炼组中，焦虑与吸烟或不安全性行为之间没有显著关联。此外，不健康行为与锻炼之间也没有观察到显著的交互作用。
这些发现不足以得出体育活动会影响不健康行为与焦虑之间关系的结论。
