● Article
XIE Weijun, TANG Yan, ZHU Linlin
Objective To explore the association between physical activity patterns, total volume of Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA), and depressive symptoms among college students, and to identify the optimal physical activity duration for symptom improvement, and to provide a basis for exercise interventions targeting mental health in college students. Methods Using random clustered sampling, 3 262 college students aged 18-22 from 8 universities in Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Hubei provinces were selected as the study subjects from March to June 2025. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF) was used to assess physical activity levels and patterns (regular exercisers, weekend warriors, and insufficiently active). Depressive symptoms were screened using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Combining physical examination data (height, weight, BMI) and questionnaire data (IPAQ-SF, CES-D), statistical methods including the chi-square test and binary logistic regression were used to examine the association between physical activity and depressive symptoms. Results Among college students, the detection rate of depressive symptoms was 32.0%, while the physical activity compliance rate was only 29.2%. After adjusting for confounding factors, compared to the insufficiently active group, both the regular exercisers (OR=0.669, 95%CI: 0.559-0.801, P<0.001) and the weekend warriors (OR=0.669, 95%CI: 0.451-0.992, P=0.045) had significantly lower risks of depression. Compared to the low physical activity level, those with moderate (OR=0.856, 95%CI 0.730-0.999, P=0.044) and high (OR=0.484, 95%CI: 0.364-0.644, P<0.001) levels had significantly lower risks of depression. Compared to those with irregular moderate-to-vigorous activity, those with regular activity (OR=0.771, 95%CI: 0.664-0.895, P<0.001) had a significantly lower risk of depression. Compared to those not meeting MVPA guidelines, those meeting the guidelines (OR=0.678, 95%CI: 0.570-0.806, P<0.001) had a significantly lower risk of depression. The total volume of MVPA showed a non-linear negative association with depressive symptoms (P<0.01), with 66.63 min/week as the inflection point for a protective effect. Conclusions Achieving recommended physical activity levels has a protective effect against depressive symptoms in college students. The weekend warrior pattern yields equivalent efficacy to the regular exercise pattern. Achieving 66.63 min/week of moderate-to-vigorous activity can serve as a foundational starting dose for exercise interventions in university students.