scholarly journals Relationship of Physical Activity With Anxiety and Depression Symptoms in Chinese College Students During the COVID-19 Outbreak

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming-Qiang Xiang ◽  
Xian-Ming Tan ◽  
Jian Sun ◽  
Hai-Yan Yang ◽  
Xue-Ping Zhao ◽  
...  

IntroductionDuring the COVID-19 outbreak, many citizens were asked to stay at home in self-quarantine, which can pose a significant challenge with respect to remaining physically active and maintaining mental health. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of inadequate physical activity, anxiety, and depression and to explore the relationship of physical activity with anxiety and depression symptoms among Chinese college students during quarantine.MethodUsing a web-based cross-sectional survey, we collected data from 1,396 Chinese college students. Anxiety and depression were assessed with the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), respectively. The data on physical activity were collected by types of physical activity and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF).ResultsDuring the COVID-19 outbreak, about 52.3% of Chinese college students had inadequate physical activity. The rates of anxiety and depression symptoms were 31.0 and 41.8%, respectively. A high level of physical activity (β = −0.121, P < 0.001) was significantly closely associated with low anxiety, while a moderate (β = −0.095, P = 0.001), or high (β = −0.179, P < 0.001) level of physical activity was significantly closely associated with reduced depression after adjusting confounding demographic factors. Moreover, specific types of physical activity, such as stretching and resistance training, were negatively correlated with both anxiety and depression; doing household chores was negatively correlated with depression.ConclusionOur findings highlight specific levels and types of home-based physical activities that need to be taken into consideration to protect the mental health of college students during the COVID-19 epidemic.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shizhen Wu ◽  
Keshun Zhang ◽  
Elizabeth J. Parks-Stamm ◽  
Zhonghui Hu ◽  
Yaqi Ji ◽  
...  

Although accumulating evidence suggests the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with costs in mental health, the development of students' mental health, including the change from their previous levels of depression and anxiety and the factors associated with this change, has not been well-studied. The present study investigates changes in students' anxiety and depression from before the pandemic to during the lockdown and identifies factors that are associated with these changes. 14,769 university students participated in a longitudinal study with two time points with a 6-month interval. Students completed the Anxiety and Depression subscales of the Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) before the COVID-19 outbreak (October 2020, Time 1), and the Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) during the pandemic (April 2020, Time 2). The prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms were 1.44 and 1.46% at Time 1, and 4.06 and 22.09% at Time 2, respectively, showing a 181.94% increase in anxiety and a 1413.01% increase in depression. Furthermore, the increases in anxiety and depression from pre-pandemic levels were associated with students' gender and the severity of the pandemic in the province where they resided. This study contributes to the gap in knowledge regarding changes in students' mental health in response to the pandemic and the role of local factors in these changes. Implications for gender and the Typhoon Eye effect are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick Anyan ◽  
Odin Hjemdal ◽  
Linda Ernstsen ◽  
Audun Havnen

Imposition of lockdown restrictions during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was sudden and unprecedented and dramatically changed the life of many people, as they were confined to their homes with reduced movement and access to fitness training facilities. Studies have reported significant associations between physical inactivity, sedentary behavior, and common mental health problems. This study investigated relations between participants’ reports of change in physical activity (PA; i.e., Reduced PA, Unchanged PA, or Increased PA) and levels of anxiety and depression symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Norway in the time period from March 12, 2020 to June 15, 2020. The relations between age and gender and levels of anxiety and depression symptoms as well as how different levels of resilience influenced the relation between changes in PA and levels of anxiety and depression symptoms were also investigated. A cross-sectional survey design was used. Participants (N = 1,314; females = 31%) were members of an endurance sports organization aged between 18 and 81 years (M = 49 years; SD = 11.50 years). Participants completed the Resilience Scale for Adults and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and reported their changes in PA after lockdown restrictions were implemented on March 12, 2020. Regression analysis, independent samples t-test, and two-way multivariate analysis of variance were conducted. Reduced PA was associated with a higher risk of anxiety and depression symptoms. Younger participants in Reduced PA and Unchanged PA subgroups scored significantly higher on levels of anxiety symptoms and significantly higher on depression symptoms in Unchanged PA subgroup. Females in Unchanged PA and Increased PA subgroups scored significantly higher on levels of anxiety symptoms, whereas no gender differences were found for depression symptoms. The main and interaction effects of change in PA and resilience were significantly associated with depression symptoms. For anxiety symptoms, only the main effect of resilience, but not PA, and the interaction effect were significant. Results further showed that resilience was an important factor that influenced the levels of change in PA. High levels of resilience were associated with lower anxiety and depression symptoms in Reduced, Unchanged, and Increased PA subgroups during the COVID-19 lockdown. Promoting PA while boosting resilience factors such as confidence in own ability and drawing on the social support of even reduced social networks or connections while under lockdown can protect against common mental health problems.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiqing Gong ◽  
Zhao Chen ◽  
Mingjie Liu ◽  
Linlin Wan ◽  
Chunrong Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract COVID-19 is a global concern nowadays, and the psychological impact of the pandemic cannot be overlooked. People are under insurmountable pressure, which may lead to psychological problems such as anxiety and depression. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the mental health of spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) patients during COVID-19 pandemic and to analyze its influencing factors. We conducted an online questionnaire survey among 307 SCA patients from China. The contents of the questionnaire included general information, the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), the self-rating depression scale (SDS). The relevant influencing factors included COVID-19 risk factors, age, gender, BMI (body mass index), educational background, disease course, and score of the scale for the assessment and rating of ataxia (SARA). Results indicate the 307 SCA patients had an anxiety rate of 34.9%, along with a depression rate of 56.7%. Their SAS and SDS scores were significantly higher than those of the Chinese norm group (SAS: 45.8±10.1 vs. 37.2±12.6, P < 0.01; SDS: 55.1±12.2 vs. 41.9±10.6, P < 0.01). Risks of exposure to COVID-19, educational level, and disease course may be factors affecting mental health status. The existence of a positive correlation among the scores of SARA, SAS and SDS scale was demonstrated, the higher the SARA score, the higher the risk of anxiety and depression. Anxiety and depression were more prevalent in SCA patients compared with the normal population, and depression was more common than anxiety during this pandemic. More psychological attention should be paid to SCA patients during COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun-Xia Ren ◽  
De-Cun Zhou ◽  
Yin-Guang Fan ◽  
Bao-Zhu Li ◽  
Wan-Fei Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundThe outbreak of novel 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has imposed an enormous physical and psychological pressure on people across the world. This study focused on evaluating the prevalence and influencing factors of anxiety and depression symptoms in surgical nurses during the epidemic in China. MethodA cross-sectional, multicenter quantitative study was conducted in Anhui province (China) from March 3, 2020 to March 19, 2020, with a questionnaire package which consisted of general information questionnaire,Zung's self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), Zung's self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) and social support rating scale (SSRS). A total of 3600 surgical nurses participated in the survey by Wechat and QQ. Data were analysed using multiple linear regression models. ResultsA total of 3492 surgical nurses from 12tertiary hospitals and 12 secondary hospitals in one province of mainland China completed the survey. The prevalence rates of anxiety symptoms and depressive symptoms were 24.83% and 22.39%, respectively. The average level of anxiety and depression of surgical nurses were higher than that of the Chinese norm (P< 0.05).Levels of social support for surgical nurses were significantly negatively associated with the degree of anxiety (r = -0.630, P < 0.001) and depression (r = -0.578, P < 0.001). Fertility status (β = 1.469, P = 0.003), hospital (β = -0.611, P < 0.001), participation in care for COVID-19 patients (β = 2.229, P < 0.001), likelihood of being infected with COVID-19 (β = 1.146, P < 0.001), social support (β = -0.623, P < 0.001) were significantly influencing surgical nurses’ anxiety degree. Similarly, these characteristics were significantly associated with the odds of experiencing depression symptoms in surgical nurses. Divorce and widowed surgical nurses (β = -2.654, P < 0.001) were significantly more likely to experience depressive symptoms than single nurses. ConclusionIn this survey, we found that the surgical nurses had high anxiety and depression symptoms during the COVID-19 outbreak in China. The findings suggest that targeted psychological interventions to promote the mental health of surgical nurses with psychological problems need to be immediately implemented.


2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glen D. Edwards ◽  
Art W. Bangert ◽  
Gregory Cooch ◽  
Naotaka Shinfuku ◽  
Tao Chen ◽  
...  

The World Health Organization Quality of Life-100 (WHOQOL-100, Power, Harper, Bullinger, & WHO1QLG), the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (Zhang, 1993), and the Self-Rating Depression Scale (Zhang, 1993) were used to determine whether Chinese college students from only child and sibling child families rated perceptions of their quality of life differently. Small to moderate significant differences were found when comparing only students to sibling students on the WHOQOL-100 with no significant differences on measures of anxiety and depression. These results suggest that only students do not differ greatly from sibling students in terms of their overall perceptions of their quality of life. A unique characteristic of this study was that it targeted older college students born after implementation of the one-child-per-family policy in China. Also, self-rating instruments were used to gain a greater holistic understanding of the emotional well-being, physical state and social functioning of students. Several psychosocial and economic reasons, including methodological issues related to this study's findings, were discussed.


Author(s):  
Shuo Cheng ◽  
Cunxian Jia ◽  
Yongjie Wang

This study explored the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among college students and analyzed the associations between only children and anxiety and depressive symptoms in college students in China. A total of 645 college students, from three universities in Jinan, Shandong, China, were investigated by questionnaire. The self-designed general information questionnaire was used to collect the demographic information such as gender, age, only children or not and so on. The Self-rating Anxiety Scale and Self-rating Depression Scale were used to reflect the psychological state of college students. Binary logistic regression analysis was applied to analyze associated factors of anxiety and depressive symptoms. We have found that there were 25.7% college students with anxiety symptom, 22.2% college students with depressive symptom, and 18.3% college students with a comorbidity of anxiety and depressive symptoms. The prevalence of anxiety symptom, depressive symptom, and comorbidity of anxiety and depressive symptoms in only children was higher than those among non-only children. There were no differences between males and females in anxiety symptom, depressive symptom, and comorbidity of anxiety and depressive symptoms among all college students, only child college students and non-only child college students. Only children were associated with anxiety symptom, depressive symptom, comorbidity of anxiety and depressive symptoms after adjusting potential important confounding factors, such as professional category, grade, parental relationship, parenting style, interpersonal relationship, activity participation enthusiasm, sleeping time, and eating habits. The prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms among college students was high. We should pay more attention to the mental health of college students, especially that of only child college students.


Author(s):  
Barbara Gugała ◽  
Beata Penar-Zadarko ◽  
Danuta Pięciak-Kotlarz ◽  
Katarzyna Wardak ◽  
Aneta Lewicka-Chomont ◽  
...  

Background: Taking care of a child with Cerebral Palsy (CP) may be linked with adverse effects in the parents’ physical and mental health. The causes of anxiety and depression symptoms associated with childcare are still not fully understood. Aim: To assess the intensity of anxiety and depression symptoms in parents of children with CP compared to a control group and to identify selected mental health predictors. Design and Methods: Data were collected from 301 respondents, including 190 parents of children with CP (study group) and 111 parents taking care of children developing normally (control group). Intensity of anxiety and depression was rated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scale. Gross Motor Function Classification System for Cerebral Palsy (GMFCS), Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-29), Berlin Support Social Scales (BSSS) scales and a specially designed questionnaire were used to assess the predictors. The investigated variables included the children’s and the parents’ characteristics, as well as environmental factors. The analyses applied Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, M(SD) as well as multiple regression. Results: The level of anxiety and depression was clearly higher in the parents of children with CP–the mean levels of anxiety and depression in the study group and the controls amounted to 8.1 vs. 4.7 and 6.8 vs. 3.7, respectively. The factors associated with intensity of anxiety and depression in the parents of children with CP included lack of social support, mainly perceived and received support, unsatisfying parental health status, poor economic status of the family, as well as difficult living conditions, sense of coherence, loneliness, the parent’s gender, and the child’s intellectual disability. Conclusions: Identification of significant anxiety and depression predictors, understood as modifiable factors, should be considered in determining and planning comprehensive support for a child with CP and his/her primary parental caregiver.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Zhang ◽  
Xiaoyan Wu ◽  
Shuman Tao ◽  
Shiyue Li ◽  
Le Ma ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) emerges in China, which spreads rapidly and becomes a public health emergency of international concern. Chinese government has promptly taken quarantine measures to block the transmission of the COVID-19, which may cause deleterious consequences on everyone’s behaviors and psychological health. Few studies have examined the associations between behavioral and mental health in different endemic areas. This study aimed to describe screen time (ST), physical activity (PA), and depressive symptoms, as well as their associations among Chinese college students according to different epidemic areas. Methods The study design is cross-sectional using online survey, from 4 to 12 February 2020, 14,789 college students accomplished this online study, participants who did not complete the questionnaire were excluded, and finally this study included 11,787 college students from China. Results The average age of participants was 20.51 ± 1.88 years. 57.1% of the college students were male. In total, 25.9% of college students reported depression symptoms. ST > 4 h/day was positively correlated with depressive symptoms (β = 0.48, 95%CI 0.37–0.59). COVID-19ST > 1 h/day was positively correlated with depressive symptoms (β = 0.54, 95%CI 0.43–0.65), compared with COVID-19ST ≤ 0.5 h/day. Compared with PA ≥ 3 day/week, PA < 3 day/week was positively associated with depression symptoms (β = 0.01, 95%CI 0.008–0.012). Compared with low ST and high PA, there was an interaction association between high ST and low PA on depression (β = 0.31, 95%CI 0.26–0.36). Compared with low COVID-19ST and high PA, there was an interaction association between high COVID-19ST and low PA on depression (β = 0.37, 95%CI 0.32–0.43). There were also current residence areas differences. Conclusions Our findings identified that high ST or low PA was positively associated with depressive symptoms independently, and there was also an interactive effect between ST and PA on depressive symptoms.


Work ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Natan Feter ◽  
Eduardo L. Caputo ◽  
Igor R. Doring ◽  
Marcelo C. da Silva ◽  
Felipe F. Reichert ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has affected workers in different health services including exercise professionals (EP). The urgent need to adapt in-person to online activities might have led to increased frequency of anxiety and depressive symptoms. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify the determinants of aggravated depressive and anxiety symptoms in EP in southern Brazil during social distancing from the COVID-19. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with EP who worked at fitness centers, sports clubs, private schools, or at a public exercise program offered by the municipal council. We used an online-based, self-administered, adapted version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale to compare symptoms of depression and anxiety pre- and during social distancing. RESULTS: Participants (n = 201) had a mean age of 32.7±8.0 years, with more than half being male, white, and having an university degree. We observed that 81%and 71%of respondents reported higher frequency in anxiety and depression symptoms, respectively, during social distancing than in the period before it. Physical education teachers, women, non-white professionals, and those with chronic disease were more likely to worsen anxiety symptoms. Women had higher odds to increased frequency in depressive symptoms. Physical activity and previous experience with internet-based tools for working activities reduced the risk of increased depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Sex, ethnicity, chronic diseases, educational level, physical activity, and experience with online tools were determinants for increased frequency of depression and anxiety symptoms in EP.


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