Bi-directional relationships between physical activity and mental health among a large sample of Canadian youth: a sex-stratified analysis of students in the COMPASS study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

The aim of this research was to examine the bidirectional association between self-reported symptoms of mental disorder and physical activity among a large sample of Canadian secondary school students over time.

Methods

Linked survey data were obtained from 28,567 grade 9 to 12 students across Canada participating in two waves of the COMPASS Study (2017-18; 2018-19). Autoregressive cross-lagged models were run to examine the reciprocal relationships between self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and symptoms of depression (CESD-10) and anxiety (GAD-7). Models were stratified by gender, and accounted for grade, ethno-racial identity, and school-level clustering.

Results

Autoregressive associations show that neither symptoms of anxiety nor

SUBMITTER: Buchan MC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8501578 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature