Kaija Appelqvist-Schmidlechner1,2, Jani Vaara3, Arja Häkkinen4,5, Tommi Vasankari6, Juha Mäkinen3, Matti Mäntysaari2, Heikki Kyröläinen3,7. 1. 1 National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland. 2. 2 Centre for Military Medicine, Helsinki, Finland. 3. 3 Department of Leadership and Military Pedagogy, National Defence University, Helsinki, Finland. 4. 4 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Central Hospital of Central Finland, Jyväskylä, Finland. 5. 5 Department of Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland. 6. 6 UKK institute for Health Promotion, Tampere, Finland. 7. 7 Department of Biology of Physical Activity, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To examine whether retrospectively assessed sports participation (SP) and competitive sports (CS) at the age of 12 years is associated with mental health and health behavior in young adulthood among males. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study using self-administered questionnaires. SETTING: Conducted prior to compulsory military refresher training course in Finland allowing geographically representative sample of Finnish young men. PARTICIPANTS: Six hundred eighty males aged between 20 and 35 years. MEASURES: Mental well-being was measured with the short version of Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale and mental distress with 5 items of The Short Form Helalth Survey (SF-36) scale. ANALYSIS: Binary logistic regression models. RESULTS: Sports participation at the age of 12 was associated with better mental health in young adulthood, with both mental well-being (odds ratio [OR] = 1.86, 95% confidence interval 1.11-3.11) and mental distress (OR = 0.61, 0.41-0.90). Age, years of education, and current physical activity were controlled. Higher level of intensity of SP and the level of CS in childhood were associated with lower level of mental distress in adulthood. No association was found between the level of CS in childhood and mental well-being in adulthood. Further, youth SP seemed to be a risk factor for increased alcohol consumption and use of snuff in adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: Despite negative outcomes related to health behavior, the findings provide support for the association between youth SP and positive mental health outcomes in adulthood among males.
PURPOSE: To examine whether retrospectively assessed sports participation (SP) and competitive sports (CS) at the age of 12 years is associated with mental health and health behavior in young adulthood among males. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study using self-administered questionnaires. SETTING: Conducted prior to compulsory military refresher training course in Finland allowing geographically representative sample of Finnish young men. PARTICIPANTS: Six hundred eighty males aged between 20 and 35 years. MEASURES: Mental well-being was measured with the short version of Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale and mental distress with 5 items of The Short Form Helalth Survey (SF-36) scale. ANALYSIS: Binary logistic regression models. RESULTS:Sports participation at the age of 12 was associated with better mental health in young adulthood, with both mental well-being (odds ratio [OR] = 1.86, 95% confidence interval 1.11-3.11) and mental distress (OR = 0.61, 0.41-0.90). Age, years of education, and current physical activity were controlled. Higher level of intensity of SP and the level of CS in childhood were associated with lower level of mental distress in adulthood. No association was found between the level of CS in childhood and mental well-being in adulthood. Further, youth SP seemed to be a risk factor for increased alcohol consumption and use of snuff in adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: Despite negative outcomes related to health behavior, the findings provide support for the association between youth SP and positive mental health outcomes in adulthood among males.
Entities:
Keywords:
health behavior; health promotion; mental health; physical activity; sports participation; young people
Authors: Kaija Appelqvist-Schmidlechner; Heikki Kyröläinen; Arja Häkkinen; Tommi Vasankari; Matti Mäntysaari; Tuomas Honkanen; Jani P Vaara Journal: Front Sports Act Living Date: 2021-04-22
Authors: José Luis Ubago-Jiménez; Mar Cepero-González; Asunción Martínez-Martínez; Fátima Chacón-Borrego Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-11-26 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: John P DiFiori; Arne Güllich; Joel S Brenner; Jean Côté; Brian Hainline; Edward Ryan; Robert M Malina Journal: Sports Med Date: 2018-09 Impact factor: 11.136