- Title
- Role of physical activity and sedentary behavior in the mental health of preschoolers, children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Creator
- Rodriguez-Ayllon, María; Cadenas-Sánchez, Cristina; Catena, Andrés; Löf, Marie; Erickson, Kirk I.; Lubans, David R.; Ortega, Francisco B.; Esteban-Cornejo, Irene; Estévez-López, Fernando; Muñoz, Nicolas E.; Mora-Gonzalez, Jose; Migueles, Jairo H.; Molina-García, Pablo; Henriksson, Hanna; Mena-Molina, Alejandra; Martínez-Vizcaíno, Vicente
- Relation
- Sports Medicine Vol. 49, Issue 9, p. 1383-1410
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40279-019-01099-5
- Publisher
- Adis International
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2019
- Description
- Background: Evidence suggests that participation in physical activity may support young people's current and future mental health. Although previous reviews have examined the relationship between physical activity and a range of mental health outcomes in children and adolescents, due to the large increase in published studies there is a need for an update and quantitative synthesis of effects. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of physical activity interventions on mental health outcomes by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis, and to systematically synthesize the observational evidence (both longitudinal and cross-sectional studies) regarding the associations between physical activity and sedentary behavior and mental health in preschoolers (2-5 years of age), children (6-11 years of age) and adolescents (12-18 years of age). Methods: A systematic search of the PubMed and Web of Science electronic databases was performed from January 2013 to April 2018, by two independent researchers. Meta-analyses were performed to examine the effect of physical activity on mental health outcomes in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs (i.e. quasi-experimental studies). A narrative synthesis of observational studies was conducted. Studies were included if they included physical activity or sedentary behavior data and at least one psychological ill-being (i.e. depression, anxiety, stress or negative affect) or psychological well-being (i.e. self-esteem, self-concept, self-efficacy, self-image, positive affect, optimism, happiness and satisfaction with life) outcome in preschoolers, children or adolescents. Results: A total of 114 original articles met all the eligibility criteria and were included in the review (4 RCTs, 14 non-RCTs, 28 prospective longitudinal studies and 68 cross-sectional studies). Of the 18 intervention studies, 12 (3 RCTs and 9 non-RCTs) were included in the meta-analysis. There was a small but significant overall effect of physical activity on mental health in children and adolescents aged 6-18 years (effect size 0.173, 95% confidence interval 0.106-0.239, p < 0.001, percentage of total variability attributed to between-study heterogeneity [I2] = 11.3%). When the analyses were performed separately for children and adolescents, the results were significant for adolescents but not for children. Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies demonstrated significant associations between physical activity and lower levels of psychological ill-being (i.e. depression, stress, negative affect, and total psychological distress) and greater psychological well-being (i.e. self-image, satisfaction with life and happiness, and psychological well-being). Furthermore, significant associations were found between greater amounts of sedentary behavior and both increased psychological ill-being (i.e. depression) and lower psychological well-being (i.e. satisfaction with life and happiness) in children and adolescents. Evidence on preschoolers was nearly non-existent. Conclusions: Findings from the meta-analysis suggest that physical activity interventions can improve adolescents' mental health, but additional studies are needed to confirm the effects of physical activity on children's mental
- Subject
- physical activity; sedentary behaviour; mental health; preschoolers; children; adolescents; systematic review; meta-analysis
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1413885
- Identifier
- uon:36684
- Identifier
- ISSN:0112-1642
- Rights
- This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Sports Medicine. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-019-01099-5.
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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