ArticleBMC psychology2026
Adherence to 24-hour movement guidelines and mental health outcomes in Chinese university students.
Article in BMC psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and stress are highly prevalent among university students and may lead to long-term adverse outcomes. Emerging evidence suggests that 24-hour movement behaviors-including physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep-play an important role in psychological well-being. However, limited research has examined these behaviors collectively within the 24-hour movement framework among Chinese university students.
methodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted among 836 full-time university students in 2025. Physical activity and sedentary behavior were assessed using the IPAQ-SF, and sleep duration was measured using items from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Mental health was evaluated using the DASS-21. Compliance with the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines was categorized by the number and types of recommendations met. Multivariable linear and logistic regression models were used to examine associations between guideline adherence and psychological symptom scores and risks, adjusting for demographic covariates.
resultsOverall, 23 students met none of the guidelines, while 140, 379, and 294 met one, two, and all three guidelines, respectively. The prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms was 84.4%, 61.4%, and 78.0%. Compared with meeting none of the guidelines, meeting all three was associated with significantly lower prevalence of anxiety (OR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.17-0.96) and depressive symptoms (OR = 0.21, 95% CI: 0.08-0.50). Meeting two guidelines were also related to lower odds of depressive symptom (OR = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.14-0.77). Among behavior combinations, strongest relationship was shown between meeting both PA, sedentary behavior and anxiety (OR = 0.33), depressive symptoms (OR = 0.28).
conclusionsAdherence to multiple 24-hour movement guidelines is strongly associated with better mental health outcomes among Chinese college students. These findings highlight the potential of integrated movement-based strategies in university mental health promotion.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.