Published online Jan 19, 2024. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v14.i1.148
Peer-review started: October 17, 2023
First decision: November 30, 2023
Revised: December 9, 2023
Accepted: December 28, 2023
Article in press: December 28, 2023
Published online: January 19, 2024
Processing time: 94 Days and 7.5 Hours
Depression is an important factor contributing to the global burden of disease, and the detection rate of depressed mood among Chinese university students ranges from 21.6 per cent to 37.6 percent, with a tendency to increase year by year.
Reduce the prevalence of depressive symptoms in college students.
This paper aims to discuss the relationship between different factors, the performance of sports exercises, and the working memory of university students with depression.
One-way analysis of variance and Pearson’s correlation were used to explore the correlations and interaction pathways between variables.
There was a significant difference between depressive symptomatic and healthy college students in the completion of both verbal and spatial working memory tasks correctly. Physical Activity Scale-3 scores were significantly and positively correlated with verbal working memory (VWM) correctness and spatial working memory (SWM) correctness. High- and moderate-intensity physical exercise were significantly different from low-intensity physical exercise. In terms of VWM correctness, there was a significant difference between medium-duration compared with low-duration physical exercise; in terms of SWM correctness, there was a significant difference between high-duration and medium-duration physical exercise compared with low-duration physical exercise. There was no significant difference in the correct VWM and SWM rates between the different exercise frequencies.
Colleges and universities should encourage students with depressive symptoms to increase their physical activity and improve their working memory. This is particularly evident with increased intensity and duration of physical activity, which may reduce the incidence of depressive symptoms.
The use of objective measurement tools is recommended for future studies, and longitudinal studies are necessary to further define the course of action.