ArticleBMC public health2024
Sedentary behavior is associated with the mental health of university students during the Covid-19 pandemic, and not practicing physical activity accentuates its adverse effects: cross-sectional study.
Article in BMC public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effect of Digital Health Interventions on College Students' Lifestyle Behaviors: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- Mood States, Physical Activity, and Sleep Quality in University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in Educational Settings.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- 24-h Movement Guideline Adherence and Mental Health in University Students: Patterns Across Adherence Levels and Academic Fields.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Physical activity, emotional eating, screen-based sedentary behavior, and physical and mental health in chinese university students: a cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Associations between 24-h movement behaviors and optimal mental health of Chinese university students: a compositional data analysis.BMC public health · 2026Article
- The correlation between phubbing and depression anxiety stress of first-year medical students: the mediating role of sedentary behavior.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Replacing sedentary behavior with physical activity reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression: a study with young adults.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Health Behaviors and Psychological Well-Being Among First-Year Psychology, Medicine, and Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Relationships between perceived physical literacy and mental health in tertiary education students: a scoping review.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Domain-specific physical activity and depressive symptoms in Korean adults: An isotemporal substitution study using KNHANES data.PloS one · 2025Article
- Influence of physical activity on perceived stress and mental health in university students: a systematic review.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Review
- Assessing Lifestyle in a Large Cohort of Undergraduate Students: Significance of Stress, Exercise and Nutrition.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Influence of sedentary behavior and physical activity in leisure and work on sleep duration: data from NHANES 2017-2018.Journal of activity, sedentary and sleep behaviors · 2024Article
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11 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundMovement behaviours, such as sedentary behavior (SB) and physical inactivity, have become a public health issue due to their implications for physical and mental health. The literature indicates that the university environment influences the movement behaviors of university students, and the strategies adopted during the pandemic may have favored a decrease in the practice of physical activity and an increase in the time dedicated to SB in this population. We aimed to evaluate the association of SB and moderate to vigorous leisure-time physical activity (MVPA) with presence of symptoms of mental disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
methodsThis is a multicenter survey conducted with undergraduate students from eight Brazilian universities between October 2021 and February 2022 using an online questionnaire. The outcome variable was symptoms of anxiety and depression, assessed by the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21. SB was assessed by total sitting time, being that individuals with ≥ 9 h/day were classified with high SB. The practice of MVPA was evaluated based on weekly frequency, duration, and type of exercise. Subsequently, the ratio between the time spent in MVPA (minutes/day) and the time spent in SB (hours/day) was calculated, being considered as cutoff point was the practice of 2.5 min of MVPA for each sedentary hour. To assess the association between the outcome and explanatory variables, multivariable logistic regression was performed.
resultsA total of 8,650 students participated in the study, with an average age of 23.9 years (SD: ± 6.34). In the multivariate analysis, the odds of anxiety symptoms [OR: 1.37 (95% CI: 1.24-1.50)] and depression [OR: 1.61 (95% CI: 1.47-1.77)] were higher in individuals with ≥ 9 h of SB per day. In the analysis of the relationship between MVPA and SB, not engaging in 2.5 min of MVPA per hour of SB increases the odds of anxiety symptoms [OR: 1.44 (95% CI: 1.31-1.58)] and depression [OR: 1.74 (95% CI: 1.59-1.92)].
conclusionThe results suggest that SB is a risk factor associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression and that not engaging in MVPA exacerbates the negative effects of SB.
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