Objective: The present study aimed to examine the interactive associations between physical activity and mental health literacy with anxiety and depressive symptoms in Chinese college students.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from May to July 2020. A total of 7,512 students were recruited from two medical colleges in Hefei and Anqing city in Anhui Province, China. Physical activity, mental health literacy, anxiety and depressive symptoms were measured by self-reported validated instruments. Analyses were conducted with logistic regression models.Results: The prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms was 8.6% and 16.4%, respectively. Insufficient physical activity was significantly associated with depressive symptoms (OR = 1.359, 95%CI 1.184–1.561) and anxiety symptoms (OR = 1.492, 95%CI: 1.237–1.799). Inadequate mental health literacy was significantly associated with depressive symptoms (OR = 3.089, 95%CI: 2.607–3.662) and anxiety symptoms (OR = 3.675, 95%CI: 2.861–4.721). Low physical activity rank (OR = 1.438, 95%CI: 1.151–1.798) was significantly related with depressive symptoms but not anxiety symptoms. The students who had inadequate mental health literacy and insufficient physical activity had the highest risks of depressive symptoms (OR = 5.049, 95% CI: 3.649–6.987) and anxiety symptoms (OR = 5.270, 95% CI: 3.338–8.321).Conclusion: These finding indicated that Chinese college students having insufficient physical activity and inadequate mental health literacy are at risk of exhibiting anxiety and depressive symptoms. Early intervention programs for college students with mental health problems should be considered to enhance their mental health literacy and to increase their physical activities.

No abstract

ObjectiveIn this study, we aimed to disentangle the mediating effect of sleep disorder between mental health literacy (MHL) and depressive symptoms in Chinese medical students, especially focusing on the impact of gender and grade.MethodsPooled longitudinal data of 5,504 medical students was collected between November 2019 and June 2020 to assess the MHL, sleep disorder and mental health of medical students in Anhui province, China. Mediation analyses were tested by using bootstrapping procedures.ResultsSleep disorder were negatively correlated with adequate MHL, but positively correlated with depressive symptoms. The relationships between MHL and depressive symptoms were mediated by sleep disorder in total samples and the indirect effect accounted for 13.59% of the total effect. However, the ratio was 20.82% in female students, whereas no mediating effect was found in the male students. Moreover, the ratio was found higher in freshmen (15.11%) than that in sophomores (11.56%).ConclusionImproving the sleep disorder by enhancing MHL is an effective way to reduce depressive symptoms in Chinese medical students. Further investigations elaborately considered by using more gender-balanced population with higher grade and lower level of education.

No abstract

Background Problematic mobile phone use (PMPU) is becoming increasingly popular and has serious harmful effects on physical and mental health among adolescents. Inadequate health literacy (HL) is related to some risky behaviors and mental health problems in adolescents. Nevertheless, few studies have explored the relationship between HL and PMPU and the gender difference in the relationship among Chinese adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between HL and PMPU and explore gender difference in the associations. Methods A total of 22,628 junior and senior high school students (10,990 males and 11,638 females) in 6 regions of China participated in this study. HL and PMPU were measured by self-report validated questionnaires. Chi-square tests and logistic regression analysis were conducted in the study. Results Logistic regression analysis showed that students with inadequate HL are likely to have PMPU (OR = 2.013, 95% CI: 1.840–2.202), and different degrees of association can be seen in six dimensions. Besides, in both males and females, students with inadequate HL had a higher risk of PMPU (ORmale = 1.607, 95% CI: 1.428–1.807; ORfemale = 2.602, 95% CI: 2.261–2.994). Regarding the gender difference, the results showed that males had more PMPU than females, and the difference was more significant for students with adequate HL than those with inadequate HL (ORinadequate = 1.085, 95% CI: 1.016–1.159; ORadequate = 1.770, 95% CI: 1.490–2.101). Similarly, there were associations in the six dimensions. Conclusions HL decreases PMPU, and males have a higher risk of PMPU than females. These findings suggest a reasonable strategy to reduce PMPU by improving the HL level of adolescents.