Purpose: This study aims to investigate the role of frequent sports dance in preventing mental disorders, including anxiety and depression, among college students using real-world data, and to further analyze potential risk factors associated with anxiety and depression.
Methods: We investigated 921 college students from eight universities in China. A survey was completed by 901 students and they were included in the analysis. The anxiety score was evaluated by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale and the depression score was evaluated by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Subgroup comparisons were performed among frequent sports dance students and non-frequent sports dance students.
Results: Of all the students, 9.98% had moderate-to-severe anxiety and 14.65% students suffered from moderate-to-severe depression. Compared with non-frequent sports dance students, frequent sports dance students had significantly lower depression scores (P =0.04). According to the multiple logistic regression models, when potential confounding factors were all adjusted, frequent sports dance was also significantly associated with less depression (OR=0.55, 95% CI: 0.36– 0.84, P < 0.01). We also found that higher college grade levels (P < 0.01), non-physical education students (P =0.02), higher body mass index (P =0.02), lower exercise frequency per week (P < 0.01), addiction to drinking (P =0.02), and previous diagnosis of anxiety or depression in hospital (P < 0.01) were significantly associated with more anxiety; higher college grade levels (P < 0.01), addiction to drinking (P < 0.01), preference for eating fried food (P =0.02), soda as the main source of drinking water (P =0.01), and previous diagnosis of anxiety or depression (P =0.03) were significantly associated with more depression, while higher exercise frequency per week (P < 0.01), only-child status (P < 0.01), and preference for eating vegetables (P =0.02) were significantly associated with less depression.
Conclusion: Anxiety and depression are common among college students. Frequent sports dance may serve as a protective factor for preventing depression and it can be recommended for college students.
Keywords: sports dance, college student, anxiety, depression, risk factor