Abstract
The study aimed to investigate the associations between physical inactivity and health complaints in relation to posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, behavioral and nutritional factors, and sense of coherence (SOC) in eighth-grade girls enrolled in secondary schools in Kaunas, Lithuania. A random sample of girls (N = 862) was interviewed anonymously on health complaints, physical activity level, PTS symptoms, Antonovsky’s SOC scale, health behaviors, and dietary patterns. All health complaints were significantly associated with physical inactivity. Crude odds ratio (OR) for physical inactivity and health complaints was 1.67 (95%CI: 1.09-2.56); after adjusting for PTS symptoms, the OR decreased to 1.57 (95%CI: 0.95-2.45); further adjustment for smoking, daily alcohol intake, daily consumption of fresh vegetables, and SOC decreased the OR to 1.25 (95%CI: 0.76-2.04). The effect of PTS symptoms and sense of coherence remained stable after all adjustments. The significant association between physical inactivity and health complaints was mediated by PTS symptoms.
Highlights
Studies have confirmed that physical activity moderates the relationship between school-related stress and health complaints in adolescents [1,2]
We investigated whether posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms mediate the associations between physical inactivity and health complaints, considering the possible effects of smoking, alcohol intake, and dietary patterns, since evidence suggests that these factors are related both to health problems [12,13] and to physical activity [14,15]
This study aimed to investigate the associations between physical inactivity and health complaints in relation to post-traumatic stress symptoms, behavioral factors, and eating patterns as well as sense of coherence among eighth-grade girls enrolled in secondary schools in Kaunas
Summary
Studies have confirmed that physical activity moderates the relationship between school-related stress and health complaints in adolescents [1,2]. A large Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) survey in 20 European countries showed that socio-demographic factors were significant mediators of the associations between leisure-time physical activity and psychological complaints 5, and again no potential mediation of poor mental health was investigated. In our study, we included posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms as an indicator of poor mental health, hypothesizing that PTS symptoms might mediate the associations between physical inactivity and health complaints among adolescent girls. The lack of findings on associations between physical inactivity and health complaints in relation to posttraumatic stress symptoms motivated the current study. Physical inactivity is more prevalent in girls than in boys
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