Correlates of sedentary behavior among university students with depression from 22 low- and middle-income countries

ABSTRACT

The present study utilized a large, multi-country sample and aimed to examine the correlates of sedentary behavior in university students with depression in 22 low- and middle-income countries. In a cross-sectional survey, university students (median age 20 years, interquartile range = 3) from 22 countries in the Americas, Africa, and Asia responded to self-reported measures of sedentary behavior and health indicators. Overall, among 1693 university students with depression, 36.3% engaged in 8 or more hours a day sedentary time. In the final logistic regression model, residing in a low-income or lower middle-income country and inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption were positively and having sustained an injury in the past year was negatively associated with high sedentary behavior. Findings suggest that sedentary behavior interventions in university students with depression could target at-risk groups identified in this study.

KEYWORDS:

• Depression
• sedentary behaviour
• sociodemographic factors
• health indicators
• university students