Abstract
Background
Restricted outdoor activities and online learning during COVID-19 pandemic may pose threats on the physical and mental health of Chinese adolescents in middle schools. The study was to explore the relationship of Physical Activity (PA) and Sedentary Time (SED) with mood states among Chinese adolescents during the pandemic.
Methods
A total of 4898 adolescents (16.3 ± 1.3 years old) from 49 middle schools in 13 urban and rural areas in Yan’an, China volunteered to participate in this study and completed online questionnaires. International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) were used to measure PA and SED, and Profile of Mood States were used to evaluate mood states. We used Mann—Whitney U-test and Kruskal—Wallis test to assess differences in PA and SED in different sex and grade group, respectively. Mixed linear regression was used to analyze the relationship between PA/SED and mood states.
Results
Participants in our study accumulated 23.4 ± 52.5 min of moderate-to-vigorous PA and 363.6 ± 148.4 min of SED per day. The mood states of boys were better than that of girls (p < 0.01). The mood states of the students in Senior High School Grade 3 were at the highest level of mood disturbance. Higher levels of PA were significantly associated with lower levels of total mood disturbance in this population (High PA group according to IPAQ: B = −3.22, SE = 0.40, p < 0.001; Moderate: B = −1.47, SE = 0.37, p < 0.001, compared to Low PA group).
Conclusion
Chinese adolescents maintained a sedentary lifestyle during the COVID-19 pandemic. Girls and students in Grade 3 Senior High School had higher level of mood disturbance. More PA was associate with improving mood state among adolescents in the pandemic. The present study may assist policymakers and healthcare professionals understand PA and mood states of Chinese adolescents during the epidemic and take targeted actions in case of emergencies in future.
Article PDF
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
World Health Organization. WHO Director-General’s statement on IHR Emergency Committee on Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). [Internet]. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2020 [cited February 9, 2020].
Wang C, Horby PW, Hayden FG, Gao GF. A novel coronavirus outbreak of global health concern. Lancet 2020;395;470–3.
Wang YN, Luo YJ. Specialty of mood disorders and treatment during emergent events of public health. Adv Psychol Sci 2003;11;387–92 (in Chinese).
Fan P, Cheng Z, Zhang Y, Gao X, Mo X, Zhang X, et al. Analysis of the psychology and behavior of the people during the new epidemic pneumonia and countermeasures. Soc Sci Rev 2020;35;1–5.
Ransing R, Adiukwu F, Pereira-Sanchez V, Ramalho R, Orsolini L, Teixeira ALS, et al. Mental health interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic: a conceptual framework by early career psychiatrists. Asian J Psychiatr 2020;51;102085.
Zhang C. A survey & study on college students’ mental health state and the education countermeasures during the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia. Psychologies 2020;15;44–6.
Sani G, Janiri D, Di Nicola M, Janiri L, Ferretti S, Chieffo D. Mental health during and after the COVID-19 emergency in Italy. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2020;74;372.
Guo J, Feng XL, Wang XH, van IJzendoorn MH. Coping with COVID-19: exposure to COVID-19 and negative impact on livelihood predict elevated mental health problems in Chinese adults. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020;17;3857.
Gao J, Zheng P, Jia Y, Chen H, Mao Y, Chen S, et al. Mental health problems and social media exposure during COVID-19 outbreak. PLoS One 2020;15;e0231924.
Vindegaard N, Benros ME. COVID-19 pandemic and mental health consequences: systematic review of the current evidence. Brain Behav Immun 2020;S0889–1591(20)30954–5.
Montemurro N. The emotional impact of COVID-19: from medical staff to common people. Brain Behav Immun 2020;87;23–4.
Torales J, O’Higgins M, Castaldelli-Maia JM, Ventriglio A. The outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus and its impact on global mental health. Int J Soc Psychiatry 2020;66;317–20.
Li JL, Chen X, Zhao CH, Xu Y. Prevalence of depression in Chinese children and adolescents: a meta-analysis. Chin J Child Health Care 2016;24;295–8 (in Chinese).
Stikkelbroek Y, Bodden DH, Kleinjan M, Reijnders M, van Baar AL. Adolescent depression and negative life events, the mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation. PLoS One 2016;11;e0161062.
Shen H, Yan J, Hong JT, Clark C, Yang XN, Liu Y, et al. Prevalence of physical activity and sedentary behavior among chinese children and adolescents: variations, gaps, and recommendations. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020;17;3066.
Hallal PC, Andersen LB, Bull FC, Guthold R, Haskell W, Ekelund U, et al. Global physical activity levels: surveillance progress, pitfalls, and prospects. Lancet 2012;380;247–57.
American Academy of Pediatrics. Committee on Public Education: American Academy of Pediatrics: children, adolescents, and television. Pediatrics 2001;107;423–6.
Tremblay MS, Chaput JP, Adamo KB, Aubert S, Barnes JD, Choquette L, et al. Canadian 24-hour movement guidelines for the early years (0–4 years): an integration of physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep. BMC Public Health 2017;17;874.
Gallè F, Sabella EA, Da Molin G, De Giglio O, Caggiano G, Di Onofrio V, et al. Understanding knowledge and behaviors related to CoViD-19 epidemic in Italian undergraduate students. Int J Env Res Public Health 2020;17;3481.
Hamer M, Patalay P, Bell S, David Batty G. Change in device-measured physical activity assessed in childhood and adolescence in relation to depressive symptoms: a general population-based cohort study. J Epidemiol Community Health 2020;74;330–5.
Hoare E, Milton K, Foster C, Allender S. The associations between sedentary behaviour and mental health among adolescents: a systematic review. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 2016;13;108.
DeMello MM, Pinto BM, Dunsiger SI, Shook RP, Burgess S, Hand GA, et al. Reciprocal relationship between sedentary behavior and mood in young adults over one-year duration. Ment Health Phys Act 2018;14;157–62.
Norris R, Carroll D, Cochrane R. The effects of aerobic and anaerobic training on fitness, blood pressure, and psychological stress and well-being. J Psychosom Res 1990;34;367–75.
McDonald D, Hodgdon J. The psychological effects of aerobic fitness training: research and theory. Recent Res Psychol 1991;37;443.
Crush EA, Frith E, Loprinzi PD. Experimental effects of acute exercise duration and exercise recovery on mood state. J Affect Disord 2018;229;282–7.
Corbett S, Farris MS, MacQueen G, Addington J. Pilot aerobic exercise intervention for youth at-risk for serious mental illness. Early Interv Psychiatry 2020.
Chen P, Mao L, Nassis GP, Harmer P, Ainsworth BE, Li F. Returning Chinese school-aged children and adolescents to physical activity in the wake of COVID-19: actions and precautions. J Sport Health Sci 2020;9;322–4.
Chen P, Mao L, Nassis GP, Harmer P, Ainsworth BE, Li F. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): the need to maintain regular physical activity while taking precautions. J Sport Health Sci 2020;9;103–4.
Jiménez-Pavón D, Carbonell-Baeza A, Lavie CJ. Physical exercise as therapy to fight against the mental and physical consequences of COVID-19 quarantine: special focus in older people. Prog Cardiovasc Dis 2020;63;386–8.
Macfarlane DJ, Lee CCY, Ho EYK, Chan KL, Chan DTS. Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of IPAQ (short, last 7 days). J Sci Med Sport 2007;10;45–51.
Craig CL, Marshall AL, Sjöström M, Bauman AE, Booth ML, Ainsworth BE, et al. International physical activity questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2003;35;1381–95.
Zhu L. Introduction to POMS Scale and simple Chinese Norm. J Tianjin Inst Sport 1995;10;35–7 (in Chinese).
McNair DM, Lorr M, Droppleman LF. Manual for the Profile of Mood States (POMS). San Diego, CA: Educational and Industrial Testing Services; 1972, pp. 99–115.
Nyenhuis DL, Yamamoto C, Lucheta T, Terrien A, Parmentier A. Adult and geriatric normative data and validation of the profile of mood states. J Clin Psychol 1999;55;79–86.
Hajo S, Reed JL, Hans H, Tulloch HE, Reid RD, Prince SA. Physical activity, sedentary time and sleep and associations with mood states, shift work disorder and absenteeism among nurses: an analysis of the cross-sectional Champlain Nurses’ Study. PeerJ 2020;8;e8464.
Omorou AY, Langlois J, Lecomte E, Vuillemin A, Briançon S, PRALIMAP Trial Group. Adolescents’ physical activity and sedentary behavior: a pathway in reducing overweight and obesity. The PRALIMAP 2-year cluster randomized controlled trial. J Phys Act Health 2015;12;628–35.
Rääsk T, Maëstu J, Lätt E, Jürimäe J, Jürimäe T, Vainik U, et al. Comparison of IPAQ-SF and two other physical activity questionnaires with accelerometer in adolescent boys. PLoS One 2017;12;e0169527.
Mielgo-Ayuso J, Aparicio-Ugarriza R, Castillo A, Ruiz E, Ávila JM, Aranceta-Batrina J, et al. Physical activity patterns of the spanish population are mostly determined by sex and age: findings in the ANIBES study. PLoS One 2016;11;e0149969.
Pietrobelli A, Pecoraro L, Ferruzzi A, Heo M, Faith M, Zoller T, et al. Effects of COVID-19 lockdown on lifestyle behaviors in children with obesity living in Verona, Italy: a longitudinal study. Obesity 2020.
Hemphill NM, Kuan MT, Harris KC. Reduced physical activity during COVID-19 pandemic in children with congenital heart disease. Can J Cardiol 2020;36;1130–4.
Zhang Y, Zhang H, Ma X, Di Q. Mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemics and the mitigation effects of exercise: a longitudinal study of college students in China. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020;17;3722.
Liu Y, Zhang W, Cai J. Relation between anxiety and depression for lifestyle in junior high school students. Chinese Ment Health J 2017;31;235–40 (in Chinese).
Wang C, Pan R, Wan X, Tan Y, Xu L, Ho CS, et al. Immediate psychological responses and associated factors during the initial stage of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic among the general population in China. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020;17;1729.
Ussher MH, Owen CG, Cook DG, Whincup PH. The relationship between physical activity, sedentary behaviour and psychological wellbeing among adolescents. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2007;42;851–6.
Rodriguez-Ayllon M, Cadenas-Sánchez C, Estévez-López F, Muñoz NE, Mora-Gonzalez J, Migueles JH, et al. Role of physical activity and sedentary behavior in the mental health of preschoolers, children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med 2019;49;1383–410.
De Moor MH, Beem AL, Stubbe JH, Boomsma DI, De Geus EJ. Regular exercise, anxiety, depression and personality: a population-based study. Prev Med 2006;42;273–9.
Ahn S, Fedewa AL. A meta-analysis of the relationship between children’s physical activity and mental health. J Pediatr Psychol 2011;36;385–97.
Li H. The relationship between physical exercise and the emotional state of the underprivileged group of college students. J Capital Univ Phys Educ Sports 2015;27;80–4 (in Chinese).
Xu B, Ji L, Xu B WX. Research on evaluating mental state of adult residents of our city by using POMS index. China Sport Sci 2003;23;28–32 (in Chinese).
Pelletier L, Shanmugasegaram S, Patten SB, Demers A. Self-management of mood and/or anxiety disorders through physical activity/exercise. Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can 2017;37;149–59.
Stubbs B, Koyanagi A, Hallgren M, Firth J, Richards J, Schuch F, et al. Physical activity and anxiety: a perspective from the World Health Survey. J Affect Disord 2017;208;545–52.
Maugeri G, Castrogiovanni P, Battaglia G, Pippi R, D’Agata V, Palma A, et al. The impact of physical activity on psychological health during Covid-19 pandemic in Italy. Heliyon 2020;6;e04315.
Schuch FB, Bulzing RA, Meyer J, Vancampfort D, Firth J, Stubbs B, et al. Associations of moderate to vigorous physical activity and sedentary behavior with depressive and anxiety symptoms in self-isolating people during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey in Brazil. Psychiatry Res 2020;292;113339.
Stanton R, To QG, Khalesi S, Williams SL, Alley SJ, Thwaite TL, et al. Depression, anxiety and stress during COVID-19: associations with changes in physical activity, sleep, tobacco and alcohol use in Australian adults. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020;17;4065.
Asare M, Danquah SA. The relationship between physical activity, sedentary behaviour and mental health in Ghanaian adolescents. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health 2015;9;11.
Cao H, Qian Q, Weng T, Yuan C, Sun Y, Wang H, et al. Screen time, physical activity and mental health among urban adolescents in China. Prev Med 2011;53;316–20.
Maras D, Flament MF, Murray M, Buchholz A, Henderson KA, Obeid N, et al. Screen time is associated with depression and anxiety in Canadian youth. Prev Med 2015;73;133–8.
Hume C, Timperio A, Veitch J, Salmon J, Crawford D, Ball K. Physical activity, sedentary behavior, and depressive symptoms among adolescents. J Phys Act Health 2011;8;152–6.
Gross EF. Adolescent internet use: what we expect, what teens report. J Appl Dev Psychol 2004;25;633–49.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Data availability statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [WZ], upon reasonable request.
Rights and permissions
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
About this article
Cite this article
Kang, S., Sun, Y., Zhang, X. et al. Is Physical Activity Associated with Mental Health among Chinese Adolescents during Isolation in COVID-19 Pandemic?. J Epidemiol Glob Health 11, 26–33 (2021). https://doi.org/10.2991/jegh.k.200908.001
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2991/jegh.k.200908.001