ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2021
Physical Activity Improves Mental Health in Children and Adolescents Irrespective of the Diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)-A Multi-Wave Analysis Using Data from the KiGGS Study.
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Effects of a 12-Week Physical Activity Intervention on Psychological Symptoms in Adolescents.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Trial
- Wearable-Derived Axis-Specific Motor Signatures of ADHD Symptoms in Children and Adolescents.Biosensors · 2026Article
- Sleep Problems in Children with ADHD: Associations with Internalizing Symptoms and Physical Activity.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Associations between accelerometer-measured physical activity and sleep duration and health indicators in children and adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of exercise science and fitness · 2026Review
- The Potential Mediating Role of Good Mental Health on the Relationship Between Low Physical Activity and High Screen Time with Executive Functions in Chilean Children and Adolescents.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Adolescents' perceived school climate, self-reported mental health, and frequency of physical activity: associations and gender differences.Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry · 2025Article
- Physical activity and psychopathology: are long-term developmental trajectories of physical activity in children and adolescents associated with trajectories of general mental health problems and of attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) symptoms?European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2024Article
- Effect of Hit-Sport-Game Exercise Training on Self-Control and Regulation in Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).Global pediatric health · 2024Article
- South African mental healthcare providers' views about exercise for people with mental illness.The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa · 2024Article
- A prospective analysis of physical activity and mental health in children: the GECKO Drenthe cohort.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2023Article
- Long-term changes in serum levels of lipoproteins in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2023Article
- Relationship between physical activity and behaviour challenges of adolescents in South Africa.The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa · 2023Article
- The effect of COVID-19 lockdown on Iraqi wrestlers.Journal of medicine and life · 2022Observational
- Does Prenatal Physical Activity Affect the Occurrence of Postnatal Anxiety and Depression? Longitudinal Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Development of coordination and muscular fitness in children and adolescents with parent-reported ADHD in the German longitudinal MoMo Study.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Physical activity and the development of general mental health problems or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in children and adolescents: A cross-lagged panel analysis of long-term follow-up epidemiological data.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2022Article
- Differences in Dietary Habits, Physical Exercise, and Quality of Life between Patients with Obesity and Overweight.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Physical activity (PA) may have positive effects on mental health in children and adolescents. This post hoc study aimed to further investigate the relationship between different frequency levels of PA and general mental health as well as specific hyperactivity/inattention symptoms in children and adolescents.
methodsThe analyses were based on data drawn from the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS) study, a regularly conducted large-scale, epidemiological investigation of somatic and mental health of children and adolescents in Germany. Parents were asked about their children's attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) records and answered questionnaires concerning any mental health problem behavior of the children and adolescents using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The overall problem score as well as the hyperactivity/inattention symptoms subscale (SDQ-H/I) were entered as outcomes in a regression model controlling for parental socio-economic status and participants' sex, age, and body mass index (BMI). Cross-sectional analyses were conducted at three time points of the KiGGS study (baseline, wave 1, and wave 2) using general linear models (GLM). This was performed for different age groups (4-5, 6-9, 10-17 years).
resultsSignificant negative relationships were found between PA and general mental health problems. For the relationship between PA and SDQ-H/I, different patterns emerged at the three time points. There was no interaction between PA frequency levels and diagnosis of ADHD (ADHD vs. non-ADHD controls) regarding the SDQ total score.
conclusionThis study underlines the importance of a high frequency level of PA for a good mental health status among children and adolescents, irrespective of the diagnosis of ADHD.
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