Key result
Higher low-intensity physical activity links to ~62% lower incidence of depressive symptoms.
Why the study?
Although physical activity may prevent depressive symptoms, the association between physical activity intensity and depressive symptoms remains unclear.
Does physical activity intensity affect the incidence of depressive symptoms in college students?
Cohort (n=1,415)
No
Does physical activity intensity affect the incidence of depressive symptoms in college students?
Higher levels of low- to moderate-intensity physical activity are associated with a lower incidence of depressive symptoms in college students, whereas vigorous-intensity activity may increase the risk.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Higher low-intensity activity was associated with fewer depressive symptoms; hypothesis-generating and requires randomized confirmation before practice change.
Background: Literature suggests that physical activity has a preventive effect on depressive symptoms, yet the association between the intensity of physical activity (a core element of physical activity) and depressive symptoms remains unclear. This study explores this association between physical activity intensity and depressive symptoms in college students. Methods: Using a cohort study design, a 3-year follow-up survey was conducted from 2017–2020 among 1415 college students (1108 females, 78.3%; 307 males, 21.7%) from Shenyang Normal University from 2017 to 2020. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF) and Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were used to evaluate the physical activity intensity and depressive symptoms of these students. Logistic regression was then used to analyze the association between physical activity intensity and depressive symptoms. Results: The analysis showed that, compared with participants with lower levels of low-intensity physical activity, those with higher levels had a 61.7% (OR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.28–0.52, p < 0.001) lower incidence of depressive symptoms in full-adjusted model. Similarly, moderate-intensity physical activity also appeared to reduce the incidence of depressive symptoms by approximately 20% (OR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.59–1.08, p = 0.14) in the full-adjusted model. Conversely, increased vigorous-intensity physical activity was associated with a 50.4% (OR = 1.50, 95% CI: 1.12–2.02, p = 0.007) higher risk of depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Physical activity intensity is closely related to depressive symptoms, and higher levels of low- to moderate-intensity physical activity are associated with a lower incidence of depressive symptoms. This study controls for baseline depressive symptoms status and multiple confounding factors, and is the first to clarify the potential positive association between vigorous-intensity physical activity and depressive symptoms in Chinese college students. Further research is needed to reveal the causal relationship and the internal mechanism.
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Huang et al. (2026) conducted a cohort in Depressive symptoms (n=1,415). Higher levels of low-intensity physical activity vs. Lower levels of low-intensity physical activity was evaluated on Incidence of depressive symptoms (Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale score ≥53) (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.28-0.52, p=<0.001). Higher levels of low-intensity physical activity were associated with a 61.7% lower incidence of depressive symptoms (OR 0.38) compared to lower levels among college students over 3 years.
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