Exercícios respiratórios, cardiorrespiratórios e de força, e atividades esportivas cooperativas nas aulas de Educação Física: efeitos nos sintomas depressivos de estudantes do ensino médio

Abstract

Depressive disorders are the main mental health problem. In young people, depression presents itself as a highly disabling disease, affecting social and family relationships, causing a reduction in school performance, increased involvement in risky behaviors, greater use of health systems and, in its aggravated form, self-harm and suicide risks. In this context, the practice of physical activities has been widely studied as an alternative way of treating for depressive symptoms, often proving to be effective. Since school is an environment with wide access for young people and the Physical Education (PE) is a excellent tool for implementing these interventions, in addition to the literary scarcity of school-based studies that address this topic in adolescents, this study had as its general objective to verify the effect of inserting diaphragmatic breathing exercises, cardiorespiratory and strength exercises and cooperative sports activities during PE classes, on the depressive symptoms (DS) scores of high school adolescents. In addition, to verify whether a greater volume of weekly PE classes could bring additional benefits to students’ SD. This is a randomized clinical trial, carried out with adolescents between 14 and 20 years old, students at the Federal Institute Sul-rio-grandense (Bagé and Pelotas cities). The intervention took place for 12 weeks, being applied twice a week at Campus Bagé and three times a week at Campus Pelotas. All classes that had the Physical Education discipline in their curriculum were eligible for the study. A total of 16 classes made up the sample, which were listed and randomized into three different groups (1- diaphragmatic breathing exercises, 2- cardiorespiratory and strength exercises, 3- cooperative sports activities) and comparator group. Baseline data consisted of the assessment of depressive symptoms (primary outcome) and secondary study outcomes (sleep indicators, habitual physical activity, self-concept, quality of life, cognitive failures, self-reported physical fitness, screen time). In the main analyses, there was no statistically significant difference in the SD scores of students in the intervention groups (1, 2 and 3) and comparator group, when comparing the pre and post intervention moments (p>0.05). When comparing the different volumes of PE classes, no statistically significant differences were found in the students’ SD scores. However, when analyzing the SD by degree of severity, all interventions reduced the SD of adolescents who had worsened scores, including the comparator group, which performed traditional PE classes, with borderline significance (p=0.069), demonstrating that physical exercises may be effective for those adolescents who have higher SD scores.