Introduction Higher physical activity has been associated with better mental health among children and adolescents. Findings from a series of national surveys showed that physical inactivity and mental health disorders are more prevalent among ethnic minority students than the ethnic majority in Malaysia. This study explores the influence of mental health factors on physical activity among ethnic minority secondary school students in Malaysia. Methodology Data on 8794 secondary school students were extracted from the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2017. The respondents consisted of Chinese (46.7%), Indian (16.3%), Sabahan (20.3%), Sarawakian (10.5%) and other ethnic groups (6.3%). Four mental health components were assessed: distress, anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation. Probit regression analysis was applied to examine the associations between each mental health component with physical activity, stratified by ethnicity. Results Distress was positively associated with physical activity among Indian students, whereas it was negatively related to physical activity among students from other ethnic groups. Being depressed reduced the probability of being physically active among Sabahan students. However, anxiety and suicidal ideation did not have significant influences on physical activity in any of the ethnic minority groups. Conclusions Mental health plays an important role in determining the level of physical activity among ethnic minority students. Ethnic minority students could benefit from targeted intervention measures that take mental health factors into consideration [Disclaimer: Abstract text might vary slightly from what is displayed in the e-poster]

This poster was submitted to the 14th National Conference for Clinical Research (NCCR) in August 18-20, 2021. https://nccrconference.com.my/