Influence of physical activity on degree of depression, anxiety and stress in students of University of Belgrade - Faculty of Medicine

Abstract

Mental health problems have become increasingly present among students. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the influence of physical activity (PA) on the manifestation of the symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress (DAS) in medical students. The sample of examinees included 89 students (59 female [F] and 30 male [M] students), from the first to the sixth year of studies at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, aged 22 ± 3,3. The measuring instruments were a short version of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and a short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). The obtained results indicate that average scores fall into the category of normal degree of depression and anxiety, and a moderate degree of stress, whereby F show higher scores on the anxiety scale (x2 = 8.36, p = 0.004). Different scores were noted among students of different years of study on the depression scale (F = 2.515, p = 0.036), as well the anxiety scale (F = 3.594, p = 0.005), but not on the stress scale (F = 1.55, p = 0.183). Total PA was assessed as moderate (median [interval] = 2613 [462-11931] MET-min/week), whereby M significantly more frequently engage in high intensity activities (x2 = 7.69, p = 0.006). The research also recorded a small positive correlation between sedentary activities and stress symptoms in F (ro = 0.282, p = 0.030), while small negative correlation was noted in M between moderate PA and depression symptoms (ro = -0.279, p = 0.033). The research results indicate that total PA and the degree of DAS in examined students is at a satisfactory level.