Depression and Fitness Level in College Students Attending a Diverse University

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to determine the association between estimated cardiorespiratory fitness (eCRF) and moderate to severe depression (MS_DEP) in college students. The relationships between MS_DEP and age, sex, race, sexual/gender orientation, and grade point average (GPA) were examined. METHODS: This cross-sectional study occurred at a public university via electronic survey. Participants (n=438) reported their age, height, weight, race, sex, sexual orientation, GPA, resting heart rate, exercise habits (frequency, intensity, and duration), and completed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), a standard depression survey. A validated regression model (Nes et al., 2011) was used to calculate eCRF (ml/min/kg). The difference between eCRF and age-predicted CRF was used for analyses. Chi square and independent t-tests determined differences in demographic characteristics between students who reported MS_DEP and students who reported no depression. For odds ratio analyses, MS_DEP was dichotomized (yes/no) and fitness was categorized as FIT (reference), LOW-FIT, and HIGH-FIT. The reference (FIT) represented those with eCRF within -/+ 1, LOW-FIT was <1, and HIGH-FIT >1 of their age-estimated CRF. RESULTS: Chi square analyses indicated fit individuals (=> age-predicted CRF) were less likely than unfit (< age-predicted CRF) to have MS_DEP (36.4% vs. 63.6% respectively) (P = 0.02). Belonging to a sexual gender minority (SGM) (P <0.01) or to the Hispanic race (P=0.04) were also significant for MS_DEP. T-tests revealed that individuals who reported depression were more likely to be younger (P =0.04) or have a lower GPA (P<0.01) than those who reported no depression. Odds ratio analyses found that those with LOW-FIT were 2.39 times more likely to report MS_DEP when compared with the reference (95% CI=1.17-4.87). HIGH-FIT compared with FIT was not significant. CONCLUSION: Students with low fitness are at a higher risk for depression. However, fitness above age-predicted CRF did not decrease susceptibility indicating that an age-appropriate level of fitness is sufficient to reduce depression risk. Also, Hispanic, SGM, and younger students may be more vulnerable. Those with depression have a lower GPA. Estimated CRF could provide a simple method to identify students at-risk for depression.