Comparison of Mental Health between Active and Non-Active Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

According to the World Health Organization, mental disorders are a major cause of disability in the world and can reduce students academic success as well as daily living, relationships, and physical health. It is also believed that physical fitness is important to achieve optimal mental condition. The purpose of this study was to systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that compared the mental health of active and non-active students.Articles were searched in Persian in the IranDoc, SID, Noormags, Civilica, Elmnet using the keywords “mental health”, “general health”, “student”, “active”, and “non-active” were used without any time limit until November ۲۰۲۱. Inclusion criteria included cross-sectional studies comparing active and non-active as well as studies performed using the General Health Questionnaire-۲۸ (GHQ-۲۸). The modified checklist by Downs et al. (۱۹۹۸) was used to assess the methodological quality of the selected studies. Articles were reviewed using the PRISMA checklist.Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, finally ۵ articles from ۲۵۰ studies were comprehensively reviewed. According to the results of the study, the total number of athletes and non-athletes was ۸۵۰ and ۶۲۸, respectively. The results of meta analysis showed that there is a significant difference between the mental health of active and non-active [MD = -۴.۱۵, ۹۵% CI (-۴.۹۶ to -۲.۳۴)] as well as there is a significant difference between active and non-active students in the following four subscales of mental health so that in all cases the active students were better; physical symptoms [MD = -۲.۲۳, ۹۵% CI (-۹.۷۵ to -۰.۷۰)], anxiety and sleep disorder [MD = -۱.۸۳, ۹۵% CI (-۲.۳۱ to -۱.۰۴)], social dysfunction [MD = -۱.۳۰, ۹۵% CI ۲.۴۵ to ۰.۶۴)], and depression [MD = ۱.۳۳, ۹۵% CI ۱.۰۰ to ۰.۶۵)].The results of this study showed that active students had better general health than non-active one. Therefore, exercise and physical activity can promote students mental health.

کلیدواژه ها:

mental health ، General health ، Student ، Active ، Non-Active