Background College life represents a key transitional period in the life of young adults that is marked by increased social engagement; living habits acquired during this period have implications on the future life of college students. Therefore, investigation of the determinants of health status of college students is a key imperative; however, there is limited evidence on the study of concomitant effects of physical activity (PA), sedentary time (ST), and sleep duration on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of college students. Methods This cross-sectional survey was conducted at a medical university in Shenyang in Northeast China in 2017. The study group comprised 926 undergraduate students. Data were collected by a self-administered questionnaire. PA, ST, sleep duration, and HRQOL were measured using the international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ)-Long Form and the Chinese version of the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12). The association of PA, ST, and sleep duration with the HRQOL was examined using independent t -test, Pearson Chi-squared test, and multivariate linear regression analysis. Results After adjusting for potential confounding factors, students who reported high PA had significantly higher physical component summary (PCS) score in the total study population and among female students than those who reported low PA, whereas students who reported moderate PA had significantly higher PCS score only among female students ( P < 0.05). In the total study population and among male students, students who slept for ≥9 h/day had significantly higher mental component summary (MCS) score than those who slept for 7–< 8 h/day, whereas among only male students, those who slept for 8–< 9 h/day had significantly higher MCS score ( P < 0.05). The interaction term between ST and PA was not statistically significant. Conclusions PA and sufficient sleep duration had a positive impact on the HRQOL of college students; however, ST was not associated with HRQOL and there was no interaction between the impact of ST and PA on the HRQOL of college students. Increasing PA and promoting adequate sleep duration are key health promotion strategies for college students.

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BackgroundPrevious findings on the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] level and cognitive impairment have been inconsistent. One reason is that serum 25(OH)D has a relatively short half-life, but the development of cognitive impairment is a long-term process. Skin exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation is the primary source of vitamin D synthesis. For this study, we hypothesized that people with different sun exposure behaviors would have different cognitive functions.MethodsThis study included 1,192 rural-dwelling elders in People’s Republic of China whose sun exposure behaviors, including the duration of outdoor activities, use of sun protection, and time of day participants engaged in outdoor activities, were collected. Their global cognitive function was assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Partitioning cluster analysis was used to classify participants into groups based on their sun exposure behaviors. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between sun exposure and cognitive function.ResultsThe participants were divided into high-, medium-, and low-sun-exposure groups by cluster analysis. The participants in the high-sun-exposure group had the longest sun exposure time, reported the least sun-protective behaviors, and usually spent time outdoors in the morning (8:00–11:00) and afternoon (13:00–16:00). The participants in the low-sun-exposure group had the shortest sun exposure time, had the most positive sun-protective behaviors, and mainly spent time outdoors in the early morning (6:00–8:00) and late afternoon (16:00–18:00). After adjusting for potential confounders, participants with habitually high sun exposure were more likely to have higher MMSE score (25.4) than those with habitually low sun exposure (MMSE score =24.4).ConclusionLong-term high sun exposure is positively related with better cognitive functioning.

Aim: The aim of this article was to examine associations between metabolic syndrome and its individual components with cognitive function among rural elderly population in northeast China. Methods: Our study included 1047 residents aged older than 60 years in a northeast rural area. All were interviewed and data were obtained including sociodemographic and medical histories. Cognitive function was assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination. Metabolic syndrome was defined by NCEP-ATP III. Results: After adjusted for confounding factors, metabolic syndrome was inversely associated with cognitive function (odds ratio [OR] = 1.79; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.06-3.01) especially in participants aged less than 70 years old (OR = 2.60; 95% CI: 1.27-5.26). In addition, participants with metabolic syndrome had worse language function, which is a part of cognitive function (OR = 2.64; 95% CI: 1.39-5.00). Individual metabolic syndrome components, especially abdominal obesity and hyperglycemia, had significant association with cognitive function (OR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.56-0.92 and OR = 1.41; 95% CI: 1.12-1.78, respectively). Conclusions: Abdominal obesity might be a protective factor for cognitive function. However, hyperglycemia might be a risk factor.

Greater cumulative UV exposure appears to be associated with better cognitive function in elderly adults.