ArticlePeerJ2020
Associations of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity with psychological problems and suicidality in Chinese high school students: a cross-sectional study.
Article in PeerJ, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Disease awareness and experience of adolescent depression patients: a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Time Spent on Social Media and Risk of Depression in Adolescents: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among adolescents and youth in the aftermath of the Tigray war, 2024: prevalence and associated factors.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- The moderated mediation effect of physical activity on non-suicidal self-injury: the mediating role of perceived stress and the moderating role of parental support.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Deciphering causality between social/physical activity and suicide attempt: evidence from Mendelian randomization.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2025Article
- Physical activity level among male and female middle to high school students and impact of perceived school climate: a longitudinal analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Physical Exercise and Life Satisfaction of Urban Residents in China.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The effects of physical activity on adolescents' depression: evidence from China.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Article
- Interactive effects of sleep and physical activity on depression among rural university students in China.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- The Mediating Effect of Coping Style on Physical Activity and Negative Affect Caused by Public Health Emergencies: Evidence from Chinese College Students.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Depression is Associated with Moderate-Intensity Physical Activity Among College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Differs by Activity Level, Gender and Gender Role.Psychology research and behavior management · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe 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).
methodsA 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 (
resultsFor 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]).
conclusionMVPA 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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