scholarly journals DOES CAFFEINE INTAKE INFLUENCE MENTAL HEALTH OF MEDICAL STUDENTS?

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 22-28
Author(s):  
Zaleha Md Isa ◽  
Afraah Amani Anuar ◽  
Amirul Danial Azmi ◽  
Sanjeevaraj Tamil Selvan ◽  
Noor Shafiqah Hisham ◽  
...  

Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) consumption among students is known to increase alertness and energy, as well as to alleviate stress. There has been an increase of caffeine consumption amongst young adults. Currently, there are no studies regarding caffeine consumption and its influence on mental health among Malaysians. We aimed to determine the relationship of caffeine consumption with depression, anxiety and stress among medical students. A cross sectional study was conducted among medical students in the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Data were collected via an online survey using two questionnaires, namely the semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaires on Caffeine Intake and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). A total of 262 medical students completed the survey. The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress was 9.2%, 16.8% and 1.1%, respectively. Majority of students (98.5%) consumed caffeine from coffee, tea, soft drinks, energy drinks and chocolate drinks/food. The median daily caffeine consumption among consumers was 67.98 (25th,75th percentile: 24.83, 139.71) mg/day. There was a significant association between race and anxiety (p=0.038) in which the Malay students had the highest prevalence (21.1%), followed by Indian (16.1%), other races (15.4%) and Chinese students (3.8%). Caffeine consumption did not influence mental health of medical students in this study. Anxiety is the most prominent mental health problem among them. We recommend a programme tailored to medical students in recognising symptoms of mental health problems so that early intervention can be carried out.

Author(s):  
Sunjoo Jang ◽  
Haeyoung Lee ◽  
Seunghye Choi

Although solo dining motivated by self-determined solitude can be a positive and healthy experience for individuals, solo dining that is not motivated by self-determined solitude can trigger physical and mental health problems. This study examined the associations among solo dining, self-determined solitude, and depression in university students. Accordingly, an online survey was conducted on 372 university students. The results show that students who live alone, those in poor health, and those with more frequent solo dining experiences had higher depression scores than others. Whereas satisfaction with solo dining was high when voluntary solitude was high, female students displayed higher depression scores when they had low self-determined solitude or high non-self-determined solitude, and when they had a higher frequency of eating lunch alone, compared to their male counterparts. University undergraduates who live and dine alone, owing to non-self-determined solitude, are highly vulnerable to mental health problems, including depression. Hence, interventions that foster social connectedness and entail the identification of factors accounting for students’ non-self-determined solitude should be developed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 92-102
Author(s):  
Isha Tajane ◽  
Aamena Golwala ◽  
Devanshi Nangia ◽  
Isha Chavan

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced children to spend increased amounts of time at home resulting in adverse effects on their physical and psychosocial wellbeing. Parents need to be aware about the changes in the mental and physical health of the children. Objectives: To identify the physical and mental health problems the children are facing because of the lockdown and to assess the awareness of such problems amongst the parents. Design: A cross sectional online survey was conducted to assess the impact of COVID-19 on physical and mental health of the children from parents' perspectives. Setting: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India Main Outcome Measure: Parent reported questionnaire. Results and conclusion: There were a significant increase in the number of hours spent on mobile phones, sitting, and sleeping during the lockdown as compared to before the lockdown whereas the number of hours spent on physical activity significantly decreased and also impacted their mental health. By taking part in the survey, the parents of the children became aware of the changes occurring in their child. These findings can guide immediate programmatic and policy efforts to preserve and promote child health during the COVID-19 outbreak and crisis recovery period, and to inform strategies to mitigate potential harm during future pandemics.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asem A. Alageel ◽  
Rayyan A. Alyahya ◽  
Raed A Alghamdi ◽  
Ban A. Alzaid ◽  
Aryaf. S Alsubaie ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Depression and anxiety are indicators of mental health and quality of life. Studies found a high prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders among specific populations, such as medical students, residents and fellows. However, postgraduate students unarguably suffer from many private and career life stressors. Unfortunately, research about the prevalence of depression and anxiety among postgraduate students are greatly lacking.Methods: A cross-sectional online survey; a self-questionnaire divided into five sections. Socio-demographic characteristics, the Patient Health Questionnaire for Depression (PHQ9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 item (GAD7), insomnia and suicide. Results: The number of participants was 1,005, The prevalence of depression and GAD that warrant treatments are 27.4% and 23.6%, respectively. Most of the participants who screened positive for depression and GAD were not aware of having these disorders. Females were at a higher risk of depression (OR: 1.5, 95% CL: 1.10 to 2.15) and GAD (OR:1.49, 95% CL 1.07 to 2.07). Insomnia is associated significantly with depression (P<0.001) and GAD (P<0.001). Depression increases the risk for active suicide thoughts (OR= 7.453) (P<0.001). Limitations: Due to the nature of cross-sectional studies, causal relationships cannot be identified.Conclusion: We have identified a higher prevalence of depression and GAD among postgraduate students compared with the general population. However, they appear to be underrepresented in mental health literature, so further research is necessary.


Author(s):  
J. S. Malik ◽  
Paritev Singh ◽  
Meenu Beniwal ◽  
Tarun Kumar

Background: There are about 1387 prisons in the country with an authorized accommodation of 356,561; however, the total number of jail inmates is 418536 indicating severe overcrowding in prisons. Prison population is an underserved section of the society. Often their health problems are neglected. They carry a much greater burden of illness than other members of the society; they harbour diseases that are determined both by the environment out of which they come and by the prison in which they live. Therefore, present study was conducted with the aim of studying the mental health status of persons from a section of our society, who were condemned by law and are behind the high walls.Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out on 400 convicted inmates in district jail, Rohtak, Haryana over the period of one and half years. Data was collected by interview method using DASS-21 scale and analysed by SPSS 20.0 and Chi square test was applied for results.Results: The prevalence of depression came out to be 18.5%, anxiety came out to be 8% and stress was found to be prevalent in 8% of the convicted inmates confined in jail which was much higher in comparison to general population.Conclusions: As the prevalence of depression, stress and anxiety was found much higher in convicts than the general population, there should be a timely screening, diagnosis and appropriate intervention to combat the mental health problems.


Author(s):  
Manal Meilad ◽  
Sabreen Ramadan ◽  
Haya Hassan ◽  
Ali Ateia Elmabsout

Introduction: Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive substance in the world and not only found in coffee, but also present in some products includes tea, energy drinks, caffeine containing medicine and soft drink. The aim of conducting the research is to study most popular caffeinated product consumption and its health and behavior alerts among medical students. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted from beginning of January to the end of March 2020 on branches of medical faculties involved 545 students. Purposive sampling was used to enroll students for this study and they were asked to respond to the validated questionnaires. A questionnaire related to the caffeinated products consumption and related health problems. The analysis included frequency, percentages, mean, standard deviation, unpaired T-test and ANOVA. Result and discussion : The data collected on 545 students found that medical student consumed caffeine in the form of chocolate 87%, coffee 86%, Tea 74.9% soft beverages 67.2% , and Arabic coffee 59.1% ( P= 0.000). Most of the medical student have had some reasons for drinking caffeinated products and these reasons shown significant differences (P< 0.05) and these reasons include 76.5% increase during exam time, about 65% , to a raise level of attention and focus at the lecture and 62% for improve mood .However, students did not aware and expect the negative effect towards caffeine consumption. Based on gender, there was different on the amounts of daily caffeine intake by which male more than female (P< 0.05). Furthermore caffeinated products consumption significant associated with increased body weight (P< 0.05) There also found significant differences of caffeinated products intake among male and female (P< 0.05) by which male more frequent consume. Conclusions: Drinking caffeine containing products by the students were variable from different sources. Although, students were shown consumed caffeine at modest levels. In spite , monitoring is necessary for the daily intake and there is need for educational programs about the health effects related to high consumption of caffeinated products. KEYWORDS: malnutrition, caffeinated, BMI, Behaviors.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 41-47
Author(s):  
Liliana Zandra Tijerina ◽  
Erika González Guevara ◽  
Marisol Gómez Nava ◽  
Martha Aidee Cisneros Estala ◽  
Karla Yadira Rodríguez García ◽  
...  

Introducción: Muchos problemas de salud mental tienden a aparecer al final de la infancia o al comienzo de la adolescencia, según estudios más recientes, los problemas de salud mental constituyen la principal causa de morbilidad en los jóvenes Material y métodos: Se realizó un estudio de corte transversal en una muestra de 520 estudiantes, utilizando el cuestionario autoadministrado DASS-21, que permitió establecer la prevalencia de depresión, estrés y ansiedad, El análisis estadístico se realizó mediante la prueba no paramétrica de independencia. Resultados: El promedio de edad de fue de 18.06 (DE ±1.82) años, el 80.8% de la población eran mujeres y un 19.2% eran hombres. El 19.9% tiene algún grado de ansiedad, 36.9% algún grado de depresión y 19.8% de estrés. Conclusiones: Los componentes de la prueba DASS (depresión, ansiedad y estrés) están asociados, en el género femenino se encontró asociación depresión-ansiedad, ansiedad-estrés y depresión-ansiedad y en hombres solamente depresión-ansiedad. Abstract Many mental health problems tend to appear at the end of childhood at the beginning of adolescence, according to more recent studies, mental health problems are the main cause of morbidity in young people Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 520 students, using the self-administered questionnaire DASS-21, which allowed to establish the prevalence of depression, stress and anxiety. The statistical analysis was carried out using the nonparametric test of independence. Results: The average age was 18.06 (SD ± 1.82) years, 80.8% of the population were women and 19.2% were men. 19.9% have some degree of anxiety, 36.9% some degree of depression and 19.8% stress. Conclusions: The components of the DASS test (depression, anxiety and stress) are associated, it was found association of depression-anxiety, anxiety-stress and depression-anxiety in women and in only depression-anxiety in men.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asem Alageel ◽  
Rayyan Abdullah Alyahya ◽  
Raed A. Alghamdi ◽  
Ban A. Alzaid ◽  
Aryaf S Alsubaie ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Depression and anxiety are indicators of mental health and quality of life. Studies found a high prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders among specific populations, such as medical students, residents and fellows. However, postgraduate students unarguably suffer from many private and career life stressors. Unfortunately, research about the prevalence of depression and anxiety among postgraduate students are greatly lacking.Methods: A cross-sectional online survey; a self-questionnaire divided into five sections. Socio-demographic characteristics, the Patient Health Questionnaire for Depression (PHQ9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 item (GAD7), insomnia and suicide.Results: The number of participants was 1,005, The prevalence of depression and GAD that warrant treatments are 27.4% and 23.6%, respectively. Most of the participants who screened positive for depression and GAD were not aware of having these disorders. Females were at a higher risk of depression (OR: 1.5, 95% CL: 1.10 to 2.15) and GAD (OR:1.49, 95% CL 1.07 to 2.07). Insomnia is associated significantly with depression (P<0.001) and GAD (P<0.001). Depression increases the risk for active suicide thoughts (OR= 7.453) (P<0.001). Conclusion: We have identified a higher prevalence of depression and GAD among postgraduate students compared with the general population. However, they appear to be underrepresented in mental health literature, so further research is necessary. The limitations of this study were centered on the nature of cross-sectional studies, causal relationships cannot be identified.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (E) ◽  
pp. 1553-1559
Author(s):  
I. D. Al-Hasani ◽  
H. S. Salih ◽  
A. T. Abdul Wahid ◽  
Mohammed Jabarah

BACKGROUND: Mental health problems are reflected and linked to human behavior in many aspects. Medical students are susceptible to a wide variety of events that compromise their mental well-being, social life as well as their academic achievements. AIM: This study aimed to find the impact of social support on medical students’ behavior in Iraq via assessing their depression, anxiety, and stress status. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey-based study targeted all medical students in Iraq. The employed questionnaires covered mental health status of participants by evaluating their perceptions of depression, anxiety, and stress using. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Analysis System. RESULTS: The study revealed a significant influence of social support on students’ perceptions of depression and anxiety, but not of their perception of stress. CONCLUSION: Lending social support to medical student is crucial to improve their depression and anxiety with all the positive results that the support brings to their behavior and social life. However, they need more than the social support to keep them safe from academic and daily life stressors.


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