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Updated: May 21, 2026
Breakfast Habits among Schoolchildren in the City of Uruguaiana, Brazil
Published on: July 29, 2020
Cross-sectional associations between meeting 24-hour movement behaviour guidelines and mental health among Brazilian
Antonio Stabelini Neto1,2, Thais Maria de Souza Silva3, Géssika Castilho Dos Santos3
1Health Sciences Center, Universidade Estadual do Norte do Paraná, Alameda Padre Magno, n° 841 - CEP , Jacarezinho, Paraná, 86400 000, Brazil. asneto@uenp.edu.br.
Background:
Health-related guidelines for physical activity (PA), screen time (ST), and sleep (SLP) have been combined into the 24-h movement behaviour (24-HMB) guidelines, as these behaviours collectively impact health outcomes. However, few studies have examined associations of 24-HMB with the mental health symptoms in adolescents in low- and middle-income countries. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the individual and combined associations between meeting the 24-HMB guidelines and mental health symptoms in Brazilian adolescents.
Methods:
A total of 1,151 adolescents (51% girls) participated in this cross-sectional study (age 13.5±1.0 years old). Depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms were measured using the DASS-21. PA, ST, and SLP were assessed through self-reported questionnaires. The association between individual and combined compliance with 24-HMB recommendations and mental health symptoms was analyzed using Generalized Linear Models.
Results:
Not meeting the PA, ST or SLP recommendations was associated with higher depression symptoms and not meeting the ST or SLP recommendations was positively associated with higher anxiety and stress symptoms. In the combined analyses, adolescents who do not meet any recommendation were more likely to have higher depression symptoms compared with the participants who met the PA and ST (β = 1.34; 95%CI = 1.04-1.73) and those who met the PA and SLP recommendations (β = 1.41; 95%CI = 1.11-1.79). Additionally, adolescents who do not meet any recommendation were positively associated with higher anxiety (β = 1.35; 95%CI = 1.10-1.65), depression (β = 1.49; 95%CI = 1.21-1.82), and stress symptoms (β = 1.29; 95%CI = 1.07-1.55) in comparison with participants who met the ST and SLP recommendations.
Conclusions:
Adolescents who met any of the 24-hour movement guidelines components had better mental health. Therefore, setting achievable goals to meet at least one of these recommendations could be considered in future public health recommendations to prevent mental health disorders in adolescents.
