A nationwide cross-sectional survey of prevalence and association of physical activity with suicidal, psychosocial, and risky-health indicators among adolescents in Bangladesh

Abstract Background Physical activities among adolescents are limited, and suicidal, psychosocial, and risky health indicators are alarmingly rising in low-resource countries, including Bangladesh. Thus, this study investigates the prevalence, associations and relative contributors of physical activity with suicidal, psychosocial, risky-health indicators. Methods This is a secondary analysis of GSHS database. A total of 2058 adolescents in grades 7 to 10, aged 11 to 17 years completed a self-administered questionnaire. Sex-stratified logistic regression was utilized to evaluate associations between physical activity and suicidal, psychological, and risky-health indicators. A two-step cluster analysis was performed to identify the risky indicators. Hierarchical regression examined the aforementioned factors' contributions to physical activity. Results Half of the adolescents (boys 18.9% vs. girls 30.3%) indicated satisfactory physical activity following WHO guidelines. Most active group of frequency of activity and walking or bicycle to school were positively associated with suicidal behavior. Isolated adolescents suffered anxiety despite frequent engagement in physical activity. Reduced frequency of physical activity was significantly associated with sexual activity, smoking, tobacco product usage (girls), alcohol abuse (boys), and ever-abusing drug use (boys and girls). Cluster analysis revealed girls and boys were predisposed to physical abuse and bully, respectively. Hierarchical regression models showed a significant contribution of selected predictors to physical activity. Conclusion Increased physical activity through regular walking and bicycling may lower suicidal behavior among adolescents. The most active groups of physical activity were associated with predictors and varied by sex; boys were bullied, while girls were subjected to physical abuse.