BackgroundThe purpose was to analyse the association between physical activity taking place in different contexts (sports club, gym, exercise independently and other organized physical activities) and symptoms of depression.MethodsThe study was based on self-reported cross-sectional data from the Ungdata survey, conducted in 2017 by the Norwegian Social Research (NOVA) institute in cooperation with regional centres for drug rehabilitation. The target group comprised 5531 15–16 years old adolescents (Grade 10 students) and 11,655 students in grades 8 and 9 in Norway. Based on Rasch analysis, six items on depressions symptoms were used to create a composite measure of depression. Binomial logistic regression was used to analyse the association between physical activities in different contexts and symptoms of depression.ResultsIn the crude model, the odds for symptoms of depression were lower for those who were physically active in a sports club (OR: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.30–0.53), in a sports club and gym (OR: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.28–0.56), in a sports club and exercise or keep fit independently (OR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.38–0.72) and in a sports club, gym and exercise or keep fit independently (OR: 0.58, 95% CI: 0.41–0.81). After adjustment for potential confounders, the association became significant only for those who were physically active in a sports club (OR: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.40–0.81) and other organized physical activities, e.g. dance, martial arts (OR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.31–0.86). Analysis for grade 8 and 9 showed the same patterns for the associations between sports club and symptoms of depression (grade 8: crude model, OR: 0.47, adjusted model, OR: 0.63, grade 9: crude model, OR: 0.44, adjusted model, OR: 0.49).ConclusionsPhysical activity in a sports club was associated with significantly lower odds for symptoms of depression, suggesting a possible role for social interaction in addition to physical activity per se. It is important, therefore, to consider in which types of contexts physical activities take place, not only focusing on physical activity frequency and volume when investigating the association between adolescents’ physical activity and mental health. Additional research is needed to further explore these associations as well as measures of physical activity and mental health.

The HSCL-10 has the potential to measure the psychological distress among adolescents but there is a room for improvement. Further judgement needs to be made as to whether the misfitting item 'Sleeping difficulties' should be removed or retained.

The association between physical activity, sedentary behaviour and psychological distress was weak; only high amounts of physical activity and high amounts of screen-based sedentary behaviour were associated with psychological distress. Longitudinal studies are needed to provide further insights into these associations and to understand the extent to which these variables might be causally related.

Background This study’s purpose was to examine the association between a broad range of lifestyle habits and depressive symptoms in Norwegian adolescents. Methods This study was based on national, self-reported, cross-sectional data from the Ungdata Surveys, conducted in 2017–2019. The target group comprised 244,250 adolescents (ages 13–19). Binominal logistic regression was used to analyse the association between lifestyle habits (physical activity, social media use, gaming, dietary habits, smoking, smokeless tobacco, alcohol intoxication) and depressive symptoms. The outcome measure was defined as a high level of depressive symptoms (≥80th percentile). Separate analyses were performed for boys and girls, and all models were adjusted for perceived family economy, parental higher education and age. Results The odds of having depressive symptoms were significantly lower among those who reported being physically active at least 3 times per week (OR; boys: 0.81, girls: 0.83), used social media ≤3 h per day (OR; boys: 0.65, girls: 0.70), engaged in gaming ≤3 h per day (OR; boys: 0.72, girls: 0.77), were non-smokers (OR; boys: 0.74, girls: 0.72) and had not experienced alcohol intoxication during the previous 12 months (OR; boys: 0.66, girls: 0.67). Furthermore, the results indicated a significant inverse association between depressive symptoms and high consumption of a range of healthy food items and low consumption of unhealthy food and beverages among girls. Similar tendencies were found among boys (OR; 0.77–0.91). Finally, higher adherence to healthy lifestyle habits was associated significantly with lower odds of having depressive symptoms among both genders (OR; boys: 0.40, girls: 0.52). Conclusions A healthier lifestyle was associated with lower odds of having depressive symptoms. Additional research is needed to confirm a possible causal relationship.