People who display higher levels of emotional engagement, especially in early childhood, are 80% more likely to develop depression later in life and are more likely to experience social isolation, destructive emotions or trauma (New England Journal of Medicine, 2019). “This study is the first step in developing new and potentially better treatments for depression. Depression prolonged by negative affect has become a public health crisis, ” said senior author Dr. Jessica McCuise of Raleigh, N. C., who earned her medical degree in psychology and ethic embryology. She is the Isabella E. Burt Professor of Human Development and Family Growth and the Rodger W. and Barbara L. Vennin Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. “We need to begin by recognizing, between and across individuals, which affect patterns of depressive symptoms that are associated with lower levels of physical activity and spending time outdoors. ”
McCuise and her associates used National Institutes of Health grant to assess childhood performance on sustained brief timed bicycle exercise, estimated respiratory fitness, and health outcomes in young children and adolescents. Using data from the JAD Kids Study, a longitudinal cohort study, the researchers identified the mental health scores of sixteenth to eighteenth-age children—32 studies were included in the meta-analysis of data from 46, 300 children in 6th grade in the US, UK, Cuba, Israel, Germany, China and Russia.
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