ArticleFrontiers in psychology2026
Depression, anxiety, and sleep problems among Chinese university students enrolled in basketball elective courses: a network psychometric analysis.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: University students face a substantial mental health burden. Although team sports such as basketball are recognized for their benefits, the symptom-level mechanisms linking depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders within this physically active population remain unclear. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 2,108 Chinese university students enrolled in basketball elective courses at Jilin University in Changchun province, China. Network analysis was applied to construct symptom networks of depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), and sleep problems (PSQI). Centrality metrics (strength, bridge strength) identified core symptoms and connectors between symptom clusters. Network stability was assessed via bootstrap procedures, and gender differences were examined using Network Comparison Tests. A sensitivity analysis was performed by reconstructing networks after excluding the PHQ3 to assess their influence on network structure. Results: Prevalence rates were 16.08% for anxiety, 19.83% for depression, and 23.34% for sleep problems. In the depression-anxiety network, uncontrollable worry (GAD2) and irritability (GAD6) emerged as core symptoms, while restlessness (GAD5) and irritability (GAD6) functioned as key bridge symptoms. In the tri-domain network incorporating sleep problems, daytime dysfunction (PSQI7) exhibited the highest centrality and bridge strength, linking sleep disturbances to emotional symptoms. Gender comparisons revealed no significant differences in network structure or global strength. The sensitivity analysis confirmed that the overall network topology and key bridge symptoms remained stable after excluding PHQ3. Conclusion: Depression, anxiety, and sleep problems form interconnected symptom networks in basketball elective students, with specific symptoms acting as critical nodes and bridges. Targeted interventions focusing on daytime dysfunction, irritability, and uncontrollable worry may disrupt symptom propagation and improve mental health outcomes in this population.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.