The association between physical activity and symptoms of depression in different contexts – a cross-sectional study of Norwegian adolescents

Abstract

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.

Unhealthy eating and weight dissatisfaction in adolescents who never, occasionally, or regularly use smokeless tobacco (Swedish snus)

“…Participation is voluntary with a single administration, which makes it difficult to know exactly how representative the data are, as some adolescents refused participation, whereas others consented but were absent at the time of data collection. The participation rate is similar to other published Ungdata studies (Kleppang, Hartz, Thurston, & Hagquist, 2018;Sandvik, Bakken, & Loland, 2018), as well as surveys in the field of EDs, such as Project EAT-III (Larson et al, 2011) and the Growing Up Today Study (Field et al, 1999), strengthening our confidence that these Note: Nonusers served as the reference category for the ORs. Snus frequency categories were defined as: nonusers ("never" or "have tried snus before, but do not use at all"), occasional users ("less often than once a week" or "every week but not daily"), and daily users ("every day" to examine other aspects of snus use, including flavors (e.g., bergamot, citrus, mint), amount, and duration.…”

“…The participation rate is similar to other published Ungdata studies (Kleppang, Hartz, Thurston, & Hagquist, 2018;Sandvik, Bakken, & Loland, 2018), as well as surveys in the field of EDs, such as Project EAT-III (Larson et al, 2011) and the Growing Up Today The cross-sectional design precludes any conclusions related to causality and the developmental trajectory of unhealthy eating and weight control practices in relation to snus onset.…”

Trends in the utilization of youth primary healthcare services and psychological distress

“…Short formats of the HSCL (5-25 item scales) have been shown to perform almost as well as the full version [28]. Rasch analysis of the psychometric properties of the six-item HSCL scale used in the current study has previously shown that this scale works reasonably well [29]. Participants were asked if they had been affected by any of the following during the past week: "felt that everything is a struggle", "had sleep problems", "felt unhappy, sad or depressed", "felt hopelessness about the future", "felt stiff or tense", "worried too much about things".…”

Differences in Objectively Measured Daily Physical Activity Patterns Related to Depressive Symptoms in Community Dwelling Women - mPED Trial

“…Because Friday is the start of the weekend, this may particularly be a day of physical activity in the context of socializing. Some studies observed that physical activity in a club setting (sports club) or other organized activities are associated with lower depressive symptoms, opposed to exercising alone 44,18 . Further, leisure time physical activity, over non-leisure time, has been associated with lower odds of depression 45 .…”

“…Further, leisure time physical activity, over non-leisure time, has been associated with lower odds of depression 45 . This suggests an important role of social physical activities: exercise that can be done in a social context such as in a group and physical activity that is perceived as enjoyable for mental health outcomes 46,44 . However, this explanation remains speculative, as we did not measure if participants engaged in social physical activities throughout the week or exercised alone.…”