Exercise Interventions on Problematic Mobile Phone Use: a Multi-arm Randomized Controlled Trial

Anhui Medical University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Exercise Intervention; Tai Chi Chuan; Randomized Clinical Trial; Intestinal Flora

Treatments: Behavioral: aerobic exercise or Tai Chi Chuan interventions

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05843591

KZhang

Details and patient eligibility

About

Problematic mobile phone use (PMPU) has been described as a growing public health issue. This randomized controlled trial aimed to determine if aerobic exercise or Tai Chi Chuan as compared to the wait-list control group decreased PMPU-related symptoms; and to analyze the composition of the intestinal flora in the three study groups to explore the correlation between PMPU scores and flora species. A consecutive sample of 90 college students with PMPU was randomized to the aerobic exercise group (AE group, n = 30), the Tai Chi Chuan group (TCC group, n = 30), or the wait-list control group (WLC group, n = 30). The primary outcome was addiction symptoms, i.e., the PMPU score as assessed by the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV). Secondary outcomes were the emotion-related symptoms (depression, anxiety, self-esteem and self-efficacy), and physical-related symptoms (sleep quality, physical-fatigue and mental-fatigue). Intervention effects were analyzed via generalized estimated equation analysis (GEE).

Enrollment: 90 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 22 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• (1) be 18 years or older; (2) college students; (3) fulfill the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV) criteria for PMPU; (4) have a low level of daily physical activity.

Exclusion criteria

• (1) regular practice of moderate and higher intensity exercise (Physical activity was measured using the Physical Activity Rating Scale-3 (PARS-3), which is a 3-item self-reported scale comprising intensity, duration and frequency [14]. Exercise was considered to be of more than moderate intensity when the PARS-3 scores was >42); (2) any major disease (cardiovascular disease, respiratory illness, and musculoskeletal disorder) that can affect them to participate in exercise training; (3) any gastrointestinal diseases and other diseases affecting intestinal bacteria; and (4) any severe mental illness (e.g., depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder).

Trial design

90 participants in 3 patient groups

Aerobic Exercise group

Description:

Participants in the aerobic exercise (AE) group were asked to perform moderate to high intensity regular aerobic exercise. Exercise was required 3 times per week for at least 1 hour each time. At the beginning of the exercise, they were required to sign in at the research personnel, and at the end of the exercise, they were also required to sign out at the research personnel. However, there was no restriction on the type of exercise, which could be running, basketball, badminton, table tennis, tennis, rope skipping, dancing, etc.; there was no restriction on the form of exercise, which could be individual or group exercise; there was no restriction on the period of exercise start, which could be any time of the day to start exercise.

Treatment:

Behavioral: aerobic exercise or Tai Chi Chuan interventions

Tai Chi Chuan group

Description:

Participants in the Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) group attended an 8-week Tai Chi training program, which consists of 24-form Tai Chi and Bafa Wubu of Tai Chi. Certified instructors administer and guide Tai Chi Chuan activities. We set up 6 Tai Chi Chuan classes each week, and participants in the Tai Chi Chuan group can participate in any 3 of the 6 classes each week to be considered as completing the task. Each 1-hour training session consists of a brief warm-up stretching session followed by standard Tai Chi routine activities.

Treatment:

Behavioral: aerobic exercise or Tai Chi Chuan interventions

Wait-List Control group

Description:

Participants in the wait-list control (WLC) group received no intervention in addition to their usual physical education classes.

Treatment:

Behavioral: aerobic exercise or Tai Chi Chuan interventions