Open Access

ARTICLE

Association between Physical Activity Intensity and Depressive Symptoms in College Students: A 3-Year Prospective Cohort Study

Yan Huang¹, Yongjin Xu¹, Chunchun Wu², Guang Yang^1,*
1 Chinese Center of Exercise Epidemiology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
2 Department of Human Movement Sciences, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
* Corresponding Author: Guang Yang. Email:
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: From Tradition to High-Intensity: Examining the Psychological and Emotional Impacts of Exercise Types)

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2026.079935

Received 31 January 2026; Accepted 09 May 2026; Published online 22 June 2026

Abstract

Background: Literature suggests that physical activity has a preventive effect on depressive symptoms, yet the association between the intensity of physical activity (a core element of physical activity) and depressive symptoms remains unclear. This study explores this association between physical activity intensity and depressive symptoms in college students. Methods: Using a cohort study design, a 3-year follow-up survey was conducted from 2017–2020 among 1415 college students (1108 females, 78.3%; 307 males, 21.7%) from Shenyang Normal University from 2017 to 2020. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF) and Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were used to evaluate the physical activity intensity and depressive symptoms of these students. Logistic regression was then used to analyze the association between physical activity intensity and depressive symptoms. Results: The analysis showed that, compared with participants with lower levels of low-intensity physical activity, those with higher levels had a 61.7% (OR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.28–0.52, p < 0.001) lower incidence of depressive symptoms in full-adjusted model. Similarly, moderate-intensity physical activity also appeared to reduce the incidence of depressive symptoms by approximately 20% (OR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.59–1.08, p = 0.14) in the full-adjusted model. Conversely, increased vigorous-intensity physical activity was associated with a 50.4% (OR = 1.50, 95% CI: 1.12–2.02, p = 0.007) higher risk of depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Physical activity intensity is closely related to depressive symptoms, and higher levels of low- to moderate-intensity physical activity are associated with a lower incidence of depressive symptoms. This study controls for baseline depressive symptoms status and multiple confounding factors, and is the first to clarify the potential positive association between vigorous-intensity physical activity and depressive symptoms in Chinese college students. Further research is needed to reveal the causal relationship and the internal mechanism.

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Keywords

Physical activity; exercise intensity; depressive symptoms; cohort study; school health

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