The characteristics of depression and sleep among Chinese high school students: A cross-sectional study.
7 affiliations
- 1School of Physical Education of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
- 2School of Marxism, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
- 3Division of Sports Science and Physical Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
- 4Wushu Administrative Center of General Administration of Sport of China, Beijing, China.
- 5School of Physical Education of South-Central Minzu University, Wuhan, China.
- 6School of Sports Health, HuBei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China.
- 7HuaiBei No.12 High School, Huaibei, China.
Abstract
Mental health and sleep problems are among the most significant burdens of illnesses for adolescents in China. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of depression and sleep quality among high school students and compare sleep quality across students with varying levels of depression. A cross-sectional study was performed to collect data on depression and sleep quality using a paper questionnaire including a self-rating depression scale (SDS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Among all the 537 high school students, 57.0% (306 participants) experienced depression and 47.5% (255 participants) suffered from poor sleep quality. Males showed significantly greater SDS scores than females (55.2 ± 7.2 vs 53.8 ± 6.8, P = .027). Significantly greater PSQI score in high school students with moderate-to-severe depression than those with mild depression and nondepression (5.2 ± 2.7 vs 5.3 ± 2.4 vs 6.2 ± 2.3, F = 3.5, P = .032). In contrast, an adjusted logistic regression model indicated that depression severity was not an independent significant predictor of poor sleep quality after adjusting for age, sex, and BMI (all P > .05). Overall, high school students exhibited a high prevalence of depression and poor sleep quality, with those experiencing moderate-to-severe depression showing the poorest sleep quality in unadjusted comparisons. However, depression severity did not remain an independent significant predictor of poor sleep quality after adjustment. Depression and sleep problems among high school students should receive greater attention, particularly for high school students with moderate-to-severe depression.
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BibTeX
@article{han2026characteristics,
title = {{The characteristics of depression and sleep among Chinese high school students: A cross-sectional study.}},
author = {Herun Han and Ziwen Mu and Qiran Li and Hongtao Zeng and Yixuan Ma and Zhihua Liu and Chen Li and Yuxuan Zhou and Zhiguang Guo and Meng Lv and Xiao Zhou},
journal = {Medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1097/md.0000000000051117},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42888633},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The characteristics of depression and sleep among Chinese high school students: A cross-sectional study.
AU - Herun Han
AU - Ziwen Mu
AU - Qiran Li
AU - Hongtao Zeng
AU - Yixuan Ma
AU - Zhihua Liu
AU - Chen Li
AU - Yuxuan Zhou
AU - Zhiguang Guo
AU - Meng Lv
AU - Xiao Zhou
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Medicine
DO - 10.1097/md.0000000000051117
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42888633
AB - Mental health and sleep problems are among the most significant burdens of illnesses for adolescents in China. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of depression and sleep quality among high school students and compare sleep quality across students with varying levels of depression. A cross-sectional study was performed to collect data on depression and sleep quality using a paper questionnaire including a self-rating depression scale (SDS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Among all the 537 high school students, 57.0% (306 participants) experienced depression and 47.5% (255 participants) suffered from poor sleep quality. Males showed significantly greater SDS scores than females (55.2 ± 7.2 vs 53.8 ± 6.8, P = .027). Significantly greater PSQI score in high school students with moderate-to-severe depression than those with mild depression and nondepression (5.2 ± 2.7 vs 5.3 ± 2.4 vs 6.2 ± 2.3, F = 3.5, P = .032). In contrast, an adjusted logistic regression model indicated that depression severity was not an independent significant predictor of poor sleep quality after adjusting for age, sex, and BMI (all P > .05). Overall, high school students exhibited a high prevalence of depression and poor sleep quality, with those experiencing moderate-to-severe depression showing the poorest sleep quality in unadjusted comparisons. However, depression severity did not remain an independent significant predictor of poor sleep quality after adjustment. Depression and sleep problems among high school students should receive greater attention, particularly for high school students with moderate-to-severe depression.
SN - 0304-5412
SN - 1536-5964
ER -