Study results from X. Hong and colleagues in the area of public health published
2009 AUG 4 - (NewsRx.com) -- "An inverse relationship between physical activity (PA) and depression among adolescents has been reported in developed communities without consideration of sedentary behaviors (SB, including sitting for course study, viewing TV, and sleeping). We explored the association between recreational PA time (hr/wk) and depression after adjustment with SB and other possible confounders among Chinese adolescents," scientists writing in the journal BMC Public Health report. "A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Nanjing municipality of China in 2004 using a multi-stage cluster sampling approach. A total of 72 classes were randomly selected from 24 urban junior high schools and all students completed the structured questionnaire. Adolescent depression was examined by the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) of Chinese version with cutoff point value of 20 or above as the presence of depression. Recreational PA time was measured by a question on weekly hours of PA outside of school. Descriptive statistics, multivariate logistic and linear regression models were used in analysis. The overall prevalence of depression was 15.7% (95% CI: 14.3%, 17.1%) among 2,444 eligible participants. It was found that physical activity was negatively associated with depression. After adjustment for sedentary behaviors and other potential confounders, participants who spent 1-7 hr/wk, 8-14 hr/wk and 15+ hr/wk for recreational PA, respectively, had odds ratios of 0.70 (95% CI = 0.57, 0.86), 0.68 (95% CI = 0.53, 0.88) and 0.66 (95% CI = 0.50, 0.87) for likelihood of being depressive, compared to their counterparts who spent 0-0.9 hr/wk for PA. This inverse relationship between PA time and depression remained statistically significant by gender and grade. This study, conducted among Chinese adolescents, strengthened the evidence that physical activity was inversely associated with depression," wrote X. Hong and colleagues. The researchers concluded: "Our study has important implications for health officers and public health professionals to pay much attention to the relationship between physical activity and depression in Mainland China.." Hong and colleagues published their study in BMC Public Health (Physical activity inversely associated with the presence of depression among urban adolescents in regional China. BMC Public Health, 2009;9():148). Additional information can be obtained by contacting F. Xu, Nanjing Municipal Center Diseases Control & Prevention, Nanjing, People's Republic of China. The publisher of the journal BMC Public Health can be contacted at: Biomedical Central Ltd., Current Science Group, Middlesex House, 34-42 Cleveland St., London W1T 4LB, England. Keywords: People's Republic of China, Nanjing, Life Sciences, Public Health, Behavior. This article was prepared by Disease Prevention Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Disease Prevention Week via NewsRx.com.
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