Association between 24-hour movement behavior and depression in college students: A compositional data analysis.

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Science
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is linked to reduced depression symptoms.
• The relationship between 24-hour movement behaviors and depression, including substitution effects, is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between time spent in different 24-hour movement behaviors and depressive symptoms.
• To explore the relative importance of different movement behaviors in relation to depression.

Main Methods:

• 366 participants wore accelerometers for 7 days to measure MVPA, light PA (LPA), and sedentary behavior (SB).
• Sleep duration (SLP) was self-reported, and depression was measured using the CES-D scale.
• Compositional linear regression analyzed the relationship between movement behavior composition and depression scores.

Main Results:

• Higher proportions of LPA and MVPA relative to other behaviors were associated with lower depression scores.
• A greater proportion of SB was linked to increased depression scores.
• Substituting SB with LPA and MVPA was associated with decreased depression scores.

Conclusions:

• Increasing LPA and MVPA within the 24-hour movement spectrum is beneficial for reducing depression.
• Reallocating sedentary time to physical activity, particularly MVPA, shows potential for improving mental health.