Association of 24-hour movement guideline adherence with mental health symptoms among Colombian university students: a cross-sectional study

Objective This study aimed to determine the associations between adherence to the 24-hour movement guidelines and symptoms of anxiety and depression among Colombian university students. Study design Cross-sectional study.

Participants 1125 individuals (mean age 20.2±2.5 years; 56.7% female). Setting Students sampled from a single public university.

Primary and secondary outcome measures Participants completed validated self-report instruments: the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form to assess physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviour (SB) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index to assess sleep duration. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, with a score of ≥11 used to classify elevated symptoms.

Binary logistic regression models were used to estimate associations between adherence to the 24-hour movement guidelines (meeting all three, two, one or none) and mental health outcomes, adjusting for potential confounders. Results Only 15.5% of students met all three components of the 24-hour movement guidelines.

Meeting a greater number of components was significantly associated with lower odds of depressive and anxiety symptoms.