Sedentary behaviors negatively related to depressive symptoms in college students: The roles of type and duration of sedentary behaviors

Objective

This study aimed to examine the associations of different types and duration with sedentary behaviors and depressive symptoms among college students.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted at a university in Shanghai, China, utilizing convenience sampling to recruit 3,190 participants (mean age 20.06 ± 1.23 years). Sedentary behaviors were self-reported using a structured questionnaire detailing the average daily time spent in different types of sedentary behaviors. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10). Linear regression models were conducted to analyze the associations between sedentary behaviors and depressive symptoms with adjustment for relevant covariates.

Results

Recreational screen-based sedentary behaviors were significantly associated with higher depressive symptom scores on both weekdays (B = 0.523, 95 % CI= 0.409 to 0.637, p < 0.001) and weekends (B = 0.313, 95 % CI= 0.221 to 0.406, p < 0.001). Study-related sedentary behaviors showed no significant association on weekdays (p > 0.05), but were significantly associated with depressive symptoms on weekends (B = 0.084, 95 % CI= 0.017 to 0.151, p < 0.05). Other types of sedentary behaviors (e.g., commuting and eating) also showed a positive association with depression scores on both weekdays and weekends (p < 0.05). Longer durations of recreational screen-based and study-related sedentary behaviors were associated with higher depressive symptom scores (both p < 0.05).

Conclusion

The study suggests that the associations between sedentary behaviors and depressive symptoms vary by the type and context of sedentary behavior. Additionally, the duration of each sedentary behavior bout is a significant influencing factor.