Associations of physical activity and screen time with suboptimal health status and sleep quality among Chinese college freshmen: A cross-sectional study

This study aimed to investigate the associations of physical activity (PA) and screen time (ST) with physiological, psychological, and social health—particularly regarding effects on sleep quality—among Chinese college freshmen. A cross-sectional survey was conducted at Renmin University of China, in Beijing. A total of 5,233 students were surveyed in September 2015. Participants completed a self-report questionnaire on their demographic characteristics, tobacco and alcohol use, PA, ST, sleep quality, and health status. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to examine the independent and interactive associations between PA and ST with sleep quality and suboptimal health status. In total, 10.43%, 13.18%, and 13.26% of the 5,233 students had physiological, psychological, and social suboptimal health status, respectively. The prevalence of poor sleep quality was 37.94%. High ST and high PA were significantly associated with physiological suboptimal health status (aOR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.16–1.68, and aOR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.45–0.71), psychological suboptimal health status (aOR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.21–1.69, and aOR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.47–0.69), social suboptimal health status (aOR = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.08–1.50, and aOR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.52–0.77), and poor sleep quality (aOR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.03–1.39, and aOR = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.55–0.76). Additionally, low ST and high PA were interactively negatively associated with poor sleep quality (aOR = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.45–0.70), physiological suboptimal health status (aOR = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.40–0.59), psychological suboptimal health status (aOR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.39–0.58), and social suboptimal health status (aOR = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.40–0.59). These findings suggested there are independent and interactive associations of low ST and high PA with poor sleep quality and suboptimal health status among Chinese college freshmen.