Mediterranean diet and mental health in university students: an Italian cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Well-being is essential for positive mental health among university students, influencing their later attitudinal and career outcomes. Many factors contribute to endanger students' mental health, including academic stressors, as well as unhealthy lifestyles. Following a Mediterranean diet (MD), widespread in Europe, is proved to have a protective role for mental health. Our aim was to investigate mental well-being and adherence to the MD in university students. Methods In 2019, a cross-sectional study was performed in Turin, Italy. Totally, 502 university students were enrolled. A socio-demographic form, the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) and Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMBS), were used. Mainly, multivariable linear and logistic regressions were performed to investigate potential predictors of adherence to the MD and of psychological well-being (p < 0.05 considered significant). Results The 24% of the sample resulted at high risk of depression (WEMWBS score<40) and the 22.7% at high risk of psychological distress (WEMWBS score 41-45). The median MEDAS score was 6 (IQR=2, non-normal distribution) in a possible range between 0 and 14 (the higher is the score, the higher is the adherence). Preliminary results showed that a MEDAS score ≥6 was associated to a lower risk of depression (OR = 0.78, p = 0.006). Not being on time with university exams (OR = 2.65, p = 0.002) and not having an excellent health status (OR = 1.94, p = 0.23) led to a higher depression risk instead. The main variables that had a negative association with MD adherence were WEMWBS<40 (coef=-0.65, p = 0.001) and not cooking personally (coef=-0.30, p = 0.04). Conclusions Students who reported greater adherence to the MD were those with the lowest risk of depression. The potential protective role that MD has for mental health in young adults could be used to help developing more comprehensive intervention strategies of health promotion among European university students. Key messages Adherence to the Mediterranean diet and good mental health seem to be related in a sample of university students analyzed through multivariable regressions. European policies and strategies addressing unhealthy lifestyles and encouraging Mediterranean diet adherence could be useful to improve well-being and mental health of university students.

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Mediterranean Diet Adherence in Cardiac Patients: A Cross-sectional Study

American Journal of Health Behavior ◽

10.5993/ajhb.42.6.1 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 42 (6) ◽

pp. 3-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Benjamin H. Greiner ◽

Julie Croff ◽

Denna Wheeler ◽

Bridget Miller

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Diet ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Cardiac Patients ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Diet Adherence ◽

Mediterranean Diet Adherence

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Mental Health Disorders During COVID-19 Pandemic Among Southwest Ethiopia University Students: An Institutional-Based Cross-Sectional Study

SAGE Open Nursing ◽

10.1177/23779608211064374 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. 237796082110643

Author(s):

Zebene M. Assefa ◽

Tariku G. Haile ◽

Deribachew H. Wazema ◽

Wubishet T. Tafese ◽

Fantahun W. Berrie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

University Students ◽

Well Being ◽

Mental Health Disorders ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Easy Access ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Southwest Ethiopia ◽

Health Disorders

Introduction Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak originated in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, at the end of 2019. The COVID-19 incidence of new cases and fatality has continued to fast-track. The mental state and well-being of entire societies are severely suffering from this crisis and are a precedence to be immediately addressed. Objective To assess mental health disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic among university students, Southwest, Ethiopia, 2020/2021. Method Institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted. Pretested self-administered a structured questionnaire was used. Depression, anxiety, and stress were measured by depression, anxiety, stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Data were arrived by Epi Data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 25 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were applied. In multivariate logistic regression; p-value < .05 at 95% CI was declared as significant. Results Seven hundred ten university students with 95.6% of the response rate participated in the study. Of the participants, 91.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24 years, and 57.2% were male. The magnitude of anxiety, depression, and stress was 35.1%, 30.0%, and 38.2%, respectively. In this study, age [Formula: see text] 25years, easy access to handwashing facilities, relative death due to COVID-19, wearing a face mask, a program of education, marital status, worried about academic activities, and family psychiatric history were predictors for mental health disorders and insomnia was a predictor of both anxiety and depression during COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion In this study, the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress was above one-third, which was higher than the previous studies done in the country. Therefore, the continuing increase in new cases of disease infectivity and fatality throughout the country, providing psychological counseling, and developing coping strategies to predictors are important to prevent mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Mental health and adherence to Mediterranean diet among university students: an Italian cross-sectional study

Journal of American College Health ◽

10.1080/07448481.2021.1970567 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Giuseppina Lo Moro ◽

Michele Corezzi ◽

Fabrizio Bert ◽

Alessia Buda ◽

Maria Rosaria Gualano ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

University Students ◽

Mediterranean Diet ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional

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Differences in Mediterranean Diet Adherence between Cyclists and Triathletes in a Sample of Spanish Athletes

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu10101480 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 1480 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

José Muros ◽

Mikel Zabala

Keyword(s):

Mediterranean Diet ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Regional Effects ◽

Diet Adherence ◽

Athletic Population ◽

Nutritional Guidelines ◽

Mediterranean Countries ◽

Mediterranean Diet Adherence

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) has rapidly declined in Mediterranean countries due to the increasing introduction of the Western diet. The aim of this study was to describe adherence to the MD within a sample of athletes from Spain. A second aim was to predict adherence to various components of the MD according to region, sex, and sport discipline. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 4037 (34.14 ± 9.28 years old) cyclists and triathletes (men: 90.1%). Participants self-reported their sex, date of birth, the number of years they had been practicing their sport, height, weight, sport discipline (cyclist, triathlon), and region. Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) was used to determine level of adherence to the MD. Women reported a higher MEDAS score and body mass index (BMI) (p ˂ 0.000) than men. Cyclists reported a lower MEDAS score (7.44, SD 2.12 vs. 7.85, SD 2.08), and older age (37.72, SD 9.67 vs. 34.54, SD 8.58) and BMI (23.74, SD 2.69) vs. 22.85, SD 2.28) than triathletes. The study showed that a large proportion of the surveyed athletic population were not meeting the MD guidelines, with particularly low consumption amongst men and cyclists. There were no regional effects. Nutritional guidelines for athletes should be individual rather than general and follow specifications identified by the present research.

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Review for "Mental health status of the general population, healthcare professionals, and university students during 2019 coronavirus disease outbreak in Jordan: A cross‐sectional study"

10.1002/brb3.1730/v1/review2 ◽

2020 ◽

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Status ◽

General Population ◽

University Students ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Disease Outbreak ◽

Mental Health Status ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional

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Changes in mental health during three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic: a repeated cross-sectional study among polish university students

BMC Psychiatry ◽

10.1186/s12888-021-03615-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Aleksandra M. Rogowska ◽

Dominika Ochnik ◽

Cezary Kuśnierz ◽

Karolina Chilicka ◽

Monika Jakubiak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Life Satisfaction ◽

University Students ◽

Physical Health ◽

Perceived Stress ◽

High Stress ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Satisfaction With Life Scale ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional

Abstract Background Research indicates that mental health worsened during the Coronavirus crisis, in particular among women and university students. However, few longitudinal studies have so far investigated the changes in mental health outcomes across three subsequent waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study aims to examine changes in mental health among university students. Methods A total of 1,961university students from Poland, at mean age 23.23 years (SD = 3.16, 57.47% of women) were included in this repeated cross-sectional study across three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic: W1 (n = 657), W2 (n = 654), and W3 (n = 650). They completed the online survey with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), General Self-Rated Health (GSRH), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), as well as sociodemographic variables. Results The prevalence of people at high risk of anxiety and perceived stress, poorer physical health, and low life satisfaction changed significantly across three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the two-way ANOVA showed that both the wave (W1<W2<W3) and gender (men<women) had a significant impact on the level of anxiety. Statistically significant changes in perceived stress were found between pandemic waves (W1>W2, W1>W3), and genders (men<women). Self-reported physical health significantly deteriorated in W3 compared to W1 and W2 (W1>W3, W2>W3), and was significantly worse in women than in men. The level of life satisfaction also decreased significantly in W3 (W1>W3, W2>W3), but did not differ between men and women. High GAD risk was presented two times more frequently among women and people who subjectively assessed their health as poor, three times more likely in participants dissatisfied with their lives, and seven times more probably in persons with high-stress levels. Conclusions The results of this study consistently indicate (using parametric and non-parametric statistical analysis) that there are significant differences in mental health problems across three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. It suggests that pandemic waves should be considered in future review studies and meta-analyses. Furthermore, these findings indicate a potential role for prevention and intervention programs aimed at alleviating life satisfaction and subjective assessment of health and improving coping skills to reduce stress and anxiety.

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