The effect of comprehensive intervention on children with anxiety/depression and increased blood pressure.

BACKGROUND

Psychological problems such as anxiety and depression in children show an increasing prevalence, but low treatment rates and few interventions have been implemented. The relationship between combined exercise and psychological interventions on anxiety, depression, and blood pressure in children has not been clearly studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a combined psychological and exercise intervention program on children's anxiety and depression conditions and blood pressure.

METHODS

Thirty-nine children aged 8-15 years from a middle school in Xishui County were included in a randomized controlled trial (18 in the intervention group and 21 in the control group). Physical examinations, such as blood pressure and questionnaires on anxiety/depression and quality of life, were collected. The intervention group underwent 7 days of continuous comprehensive motor‒psychological intervention.

RESULTS

The Self-rating Anxiety Scale(SAS) in the intervention group decreased by 11.47 ± 7.99, which is higher than the control group decreased by 5.00 ± 10.22. The difference was statistically significant (< 0.05). The self-rated depression scale (SDS) of the intervention group decreased from 58.80 ± 6.97 to 51.73 ± 5.76, with a statistically significant difference (<0.05).The intervention activities also had a significant effect on the children's QoL indicators of companionship, living convenience, and living environment factor (all  ≤ 0.05). The intervention activities decreased the blood pressure and BMI of the children with statistically significant differences ( < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The comprehensive intervention combining exercise and psychology domonstrated an effective approach to improve anxiety-depression status and blood pressure in adolescents and children, with a positive impact on quality of life.