Abstract
The aim of the study was to examine whether sports participation (SP), engagement in competitive sports (CS), and the type of sport undertaken at the age of 12 are associated with the physical and mental components of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in young adulthood. The data were collected using questionnaires prior to a compulsory military refresher training course in Finland. The sample consisted of 784 men (mean age 26 years). HRQoL was measured with RAND 36 and childhood SP with a series of questions. Data were analyzed with logistic regression. Higher frequency of SP, participation in district-level CS; performing team, endurance, or extreme sports; and playing yard games in childhood were after adjustments all associated with better HRQoL in early adulthood. The association was mainly found with the mental component, and to a lesser extent with the physical component, of HRQoL. Team (OR 1.43, CI 1.00–2.06) and extreme sports (OR 1.77, CI 1.19–2.63) were associated with better mental HRQoL, while playing yard games (OR 0.62, CI 0.44–0.89) reduced the likelihood for having low physical HRQoL. SP in childhood—in the forms of team or individual sports, but also as informal physical activity, such as playing yard games—is associated with HRQoL in young adulthood.
Highlights
The positive impact of physical activity (PA) on physical and mental health as well as on healthrelated quality of life (HRQoL) has been well-established (Biddle, 2016; Warburton and Bredin, 2017; Wu et al, 2017; Bize et al, 2018; Marker et al, 2018)
The findings of the present study showed that participation in organized sports at the age of 12 years was positively associated with the mental component of HRQoL, but no clear association was found with the physical component of HRQoL
The present study showed that higher frequency of participation in organized sports, engagement in district-level competitive sports, and performing team, endurance, or extreme sports or sports in informal groups in childhood were all independently associated with better HRQoL in young adulthood
Summary
The positive impact of physical activity (PA) on physical and mental health as well as on healthrelated quality of life (HRQoL) has been well-established (Biddle, 2016; Warburton and Bredin, 2017; Wu et al, 2017; Bize et al, 2018; Marker et al, 2018). HRQoL is a multidimensional concept that includes physical, mental, emotional, and social functioning (Ferrans, 2005). HRQoL includes perceptions of physical and mental health status. It encompasses the perceived health attributes such as the sense of comfort or well-being, and the ability to maintain good physical, emotional, and cognitive functions including the ability to take part in social activities (Bize et al, 2018). HRQoL is known to associate with various socioeconomic factors and variables related to health behavior, such as body mass index (BMI), use of alcohol, smoking, and PA (Wu et al, 2017; Bize et al, 2018; Marker et al, 2018; Ellina et al, 2019)
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