How physical activity and sedentary behavior relate to the subjective experience of living with a mental disorder: evidence from 4,790 university students

BackgroundPhysical activity and sedentary behaviour are associated with mental health, but evidence among students living with mental disorders has largely focused on symptom severity. We examined whether movement behaviours were associated with self-rated mental health, life satisfaction, and hopelessness.MethodsWe analysed cross-sectional data from 4,790 students at the University of Pavia who screened positive for at least one mental disorder in the previous 12 months. Physical activity was classified as low, moderate, or high using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire; sedentary time was categorised as less than 4, 4–8, or more than 8 hours/day. Associations with self-rated mental health, life satisfaction, and hopelessness were estimated using ordinal or binary logistic regression, adjusted for sociodemographic, academic, physical health, body-mass index, and psychiatric comorbidity.ResultsCompared with low physical activity, moderate and high activity were associated with lower odds of hopelessness (moderate OR: 0.80, 95%CI 0.66–0.98; high OR: 0.69, 0.58–0.83) and higher life satisfaction (moderate OR: 1.20, 95%CI 1.03–1.40; high OR: 1.34, 95%CI 1.15–1.55), but not with self-rated mental health after adjustment. Students sitting for more than 8 h/day had poorer self-rated mental health (OR: 1.32, 95%CI 1.13–1.54), greater hopelessness (OR: 1.42, 95%CI 1.16–1.72), and lower life satisfaction (OR: 0.81, 95%CI 0.69–0.94) than those sitting for less than 4 h/day. Stratified analyses showed broadly consistent associations of high physical activity with lower hopelessness and of prolonged sedentary behaviour with poorer outcomes across screening-defined diagnostic strata.ConclusionPhysical activity and sedentary behaviour were differentially associated with the subjective experience of living with a mental disorder. These behaviours may represent modifiable targets and markers of vulnerability, although longitudinal and intervention studies are needed to establish directionality and causality.Key words: Physical activity; Sedentary behaviour; Mental disorders; Life satisfaction; Hopelessness