Abstract
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic placed social, travel, school access, and learning restrictions on University students. Excessive restriction measures have been shown to have negative impacts on mental health. Physical activity preserves mental health, and may be useful during quarantines.Purpose: Explore physical activity and sedentary behavior and associations with depression and anxiety symptoms among University students during COVID-19 restrictions in the Fall 2020 semester.Methods: Six hundred and ninety-seven undergraduates (18–25 years) from a U.S. public University completed a cross-sectional survey in fall 2020. The survey included demographic questions, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale 7 (GAD-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), and questions about meeting moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) recommendations and sedentary behavior.Results: Forty-nine percent did not meet MVPA guidelines. Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (p = 0.002) and GAD-7 (p = 0.024) scores were higher among those who did not achieve MVPA. Sitting time (h/day) was a significant associated with depression (B = 0.29 (0.06), p < 0.05, 95% CI = 0.18, 0.41) and anxiety (B = 0.24 (0.05), p < 0.05, 95% CI = 0.13, 0.34) severity.Conclusion: Physical activity was associated with mental health among University students during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Highlights
The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to more than 100 countries implementing various forms of restriction measures during 2020 (Dunford et al, 2020)
Physical activity was associated with mental health among University students during COVID-19 lockdowns
This study identified that University students that did not achieve recommended moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) weekly targets had higher Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale 7 (GAD-7) scores indicating more severe symptoms of depression and anxiety, respectively
Summary
The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to more than 100 countries implementing various forms of restriction measures during 2020 (Dunford et al, 2020). Physical Activity and Mental Health quarantining is linked to symptoms of depression, anxiety, irritability, and insomnia (Brooks et al, 2020). Survey results among individuals from pre and during the pandemic reported a three-fold increase in depression, and those with lower social and economic resources had higher levels of depression (Ettman et al, 2020). These are all correlated with increased suicidal ideations, amid Covid-19 lockdowns (Chen et al, 2020). Excessive restriction measures have been shown to have negative impacts on mental health. Purpose: Explore physical activity and sedentary behavior and associations with depression and anxiety symptoms among University students during COVID-19 restrictions in the Fall 2020 semester
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