Analysis of Correlation between Nutritional Behavior, Lifestyle and Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety among Students
-
Tamara Dimovic
,
Nikoleta Janicijevic
,
Dalibor Stajic
,
Nela Djonovic
,
Dragan Vasiljevic
,
Jelena Vuckovic Filipovic
,
Radisa Vojinovic
,
Mladen Grujicic
,
Milos Potezica
,
Jovana Radovanovic
,
Viktor Selakovic
,
Katarina Janicijevic
,
Snezana Radovanovic
,
Olgica Mihaljevic
,
Marija Sekulic
Abstract
Background: Students making the transition from high school to university find it difficult to maintain good eating routines/lifestyles and mental health, due to time constraints and stress. The goal of the study was to analyse the correlation between previously mentioned topics.
Methods: We included 948 students, aged 18-27, at the Faculty of Medical Sciences in Serbia and the research was conducted in 2020. Chi-square was used for statistical analysis. Modified WHO questionnaire for lifestyle and eating habits was used, as well as standardized questionnaires for anxiety and depression.
Results: Respondents who had more prominent symptoms of depression (moderate or severe) and anxiety had a significantly higher percentage of eating less than three meals a day (47.7%, 35.7%), skipped breakfast (38.6%, 33.5%), consumed alcohol (11.4%, 3.8%), used energy drinks (38.6%, 31.7%), were on some type of diet (36.6%, 30.2%), were not satisfied with their appearance (66.7%, 53%) and not engaging in physical activity (43.2%, 33.1%). Significant predictors for severe depressive and anxiety symptoms were the consumption of alcoholic beverages, energy drinks, satisfaction with personal appearance and physical activity during a day.
Conclusion: The results suggest that some of the eating and lifestyle habits were linked to higher risks of developing depressive or anxiety symptoms.
1. Quek TT, Tam WW, Tran BX, et al (2019). The Global Prevalence of Anxiety among Medical Students: A Meta-Analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 16(15):2735.
2. Zhang H, Wang D. (2022) Commentary: The global prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms among college students and its influencing factors - a commentary on Li et al. J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 2022 Nov;63(11):1231-1233.
3. Yu Y, Yan W, Yu J, et al (2022). Prevalence and Associated Factors of Complains on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in University Students: An Extensive Population-Based Survey in China. Front Psychol, 13:842378.
4. Hossain MM, Alam MA, Masum MH. (2022) Prevalence of anxiety, depression, and stress among students of Jahangirnagar University in Bangladesh. Health Sci Rep, 2022 Mar 14;5(2):e559.
5. Lazarevich I, Irigoyen Camacho ME, Velázquez-Alva MC, et al. (2018) Depression and food consumption in Mexican college students. Nutr Hosp, 2018 May 10;35(3):620-626.
6. Hilger J, Loerbroks A, Diehl K (2017). Eating behaviour of university students in Germany: Dietary intake, barriers to healthy eating and changes in eating behaviour since the time of matriculation. Appetite, 109:100-107.
7. Velten J, Bieda A, Scholten S, et al (2018). Lifestyle choices and mental health: a longitudinal survey with German and Chinese students. BMC Public Health, 18(1):632.
8. Alzahrani SH, Saeedi AA, Baamer MK, et al (2020). Eating Habits among Medical Students at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Int J Gen Med, 13:77-88.
9. Khidri FF, Riaz H, Bhatti U, et al. (2022) Physical Activity, Dietary Habits and Factors Associated with Depression Among Medical Students of Sindh, Pakistan, During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Psychol Res Behav Manag, 2022 May 25;15:1311-1323.
10. Luciano F, Cenacchi V, Vegro V, et al (2021). COVID-19 lockdown: Physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep in Italian medicine students. Eur J Sport Sci, 21(10):1459-1468.
11. Rodríguez-Larrad A, Mañas A, Labayen I, et al (2021). Impact of COVID-19 Confinement on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour in Spanish University Students: Role of Gender. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 18(2):369.
12. Iorga M, Manole I, Pop L, et al (2018). Eating Disorders in Relationship with Dietary Habits among Pharmacy Students in Romania. Pharmacy (Basel), 6(3):97.
13. AlJaber MI, Alwehaibi AI, Algaeed HA, et al (2019). Effect of academic stressors on eating habits among medical students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. J Family Med Prim Care, 8(2):390-400.
14. Beck AT, Steer RA. (1993). Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
15. Zung WWK (1971). A rating instrument for anxiety disorders. Psychosomatics, 12(6): 371-379.
16. Zung WWK, eds. (1980). How normal is anxiety? Durham: Upjohn Publishers.
17. Wang Q, Zhang B, Zhang S, et al (2022). Anxiety and depression and their interdependent influencing factors among medical students in Inner Mongolia: the cross-sectional survey. BMC Med Educ, 22(1):787.
18. Ramón-Arbués E, Gea-Caballero V, Granada-López JM, et al (2020). The Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety and Stress and Their Associated Factors in College Students. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 17(19):7001.
19. Ramón-Arbués E, Martínez Abadía B, Granada López JM, et al (2019). Eating behavior and relationships with stress, anxiety, depression and insomnia in university students. Nutr Hosp, 36(6):1339-1345.
20. Visseren FLJ, Mach F, Smulders YM, et al (2021). ESC National Cardiac Societies; ESC Scientific Document Group. 2021 ESC Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice. Eur Heart J, 42(34):3227-3337.
21. Lichtenstein AH, Appel LJ, Vadiveloo M, et al (2021). Dietary Guidance to Improve Cardiovascular Health: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation, 144(23):e472-e487.
22. Ahmed M, Eun JB (2018). Flavonoids in fruits and vegetables after thermal and nonthermal processing: A review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 58(18):3159-3188.
23. Zhu F, Du B, Xu B (2018). Anti-inflammatory effects of phytochemicals from fruits, vegetables, and food legumes: A review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 58(8):1260-1270.
24. Kopustinskiene DM, Jakstas V, Savickas A, et al (2020). Flavonoids as Anticancer Agents. Nutrients, 12(2):457.
25. Yousif MM, Kaddam LA, Humeda HS (2019). Correlation between physical activity, eating behavior and obesity among Sudanese medical students Sudan. BMC Nutr, 5:6.
26. Paans NPG, Gibson-Smith D, Bot M, et al. (2019) Depression and eating styles are independently associated with dietary intake. Appetite, 2019 Mar 1;134:103-110.
27. Ljungberg T, Bondza E, Lethin C. (2020) Evidence of the Importance of Dietary Habits Regarding Depressive Symptoms and Depression. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2020 Mar 2;17(5):1616.
28. Socolov S, Munteanu C, Alwan S, et al (2017). Socio-demographic characteristics, educational motivation and geo-cultural comfortability related to the process of adaptation of freshman international students in a Romanian university. Med. Surg. J, 121:787–793.
29. Yen DA, Cappellini B, Wang CL, et al (2018). Food consumption when travelling abroad: Young Chinese sojourners' food consumption in the UK. Appetite, 121:198-206.
2. Zhang H, Wang D. (2022) Commentary: The global prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms among college students and its influencing factors - a commentary on Li et al. J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 2022 Nov;63(11):1231-1233.
3. Yu Y, Yan W, Yu J, et al (2022). Prevalence and Associated Factors of Complains on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in University Students: An Extensive Population-Based Survey in China. Front Psychol, 13:842378.
4. Hossain MM, Alam MA, Masum MH. (2022) Prevalence of anxiety, depression, and stress among students of Jahangirnagar University in Bangladesh. Health Sci Rep, 2022 Mar 14;5(2):e559.
5. Lazarevich I, Irigoyen Camacho ME, Velázquez-Alva MC, et al. (2018) Depression and food consumption in Mexican college students. Nutr Hosp, 2018 May 10;35(3):620-626.
6. Hilger J, Loerbroks A, Diehl K (2017). Eating behaviour of university students in Germany: Dietary intake, barriers to healthy eating and changes in eating behaviour since the time of matriculation. Appetite, 109:100-107.
7. Velten J, Bieda A, Scholten S, et al (2018). Lifestyle choices and mental health: a longitudinal survey with German and Chinese students. BMC Public Health, 18(1):632.
8. Alzahrani SH, Saeedi AA, Baamer MK, et al (2020). Eating Habits among Medical Students at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Int J Gen Med, 13:77-88.
9. Khidri FF, Riaz H, Bhatti U, et al. (2022) Physical Activity, Dietary Habits and Factors Associated with Depression Among Medical Students of Sindh, Pakistan, During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Psychol Res Behav Manag, 2022 May 25;15:1311-1323.
10. Luciano F, Cenacchi V, Vegro V, et al (2021). COVID-19 lockdown: Physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep in Italian medicine students. Eur J Sport Sci, 21(10):1459-1468.
11. Rodríguez-Larrad A, Mañas A, Labayen I, et al (2021). Impact of COVID-19 Confinement on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour in Spanish University Students: Role of Gender. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 18(2):369.
12. Iorga M, Manole I, Pop L, et al (2018). Eating Disorders in Relationship with Dietary Habits among Pharmacy Students in Romania. Pharmacy (Basel), 6(3):97.
13. AlJaber MI, Alwehaibi AI, Algaeed HA, et al (2019). Effect of academic stressors on eating habits among medical students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. J Family Med Prim Care, 8(2):390-400.
14. Beck AT, Steer RA. (1993). Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
15. Zung WWK (1971). A rating instrument for anxiety disorders. Psychosomatics, 12(6): 371-379.
16. Zung WWK, eds. (1980). How normal is anxiety? Durham: Upjohn Publishers.
17. Wang Q, Zhang B, Zhang S, et al (2022). Anxiety and depression and their interdependent influencing factors among medical students in Inner Mongolia: the cross-sectional survey. BMC Med Educ, 22(1):787.
18. Ramón-Arbués E, Gea-Caballero V, Granada-López JM, et al (2020). The Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety and Stress and Their Associated Factors in College Students. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 17(19):7001.
19. Ramón-Arbués E, Martínez Abadía B, Granada López JM, et al (2019). Eating behavior and relationships with stress, anxiety, depression and insomnia in university students. Nutr Hosp, 36(6):1339-1345.
20. Visseren FLJ, Mach F, Smulders YM, et al (2021). ESC National Cardiac Societies; ESC Scientific Document Group. 2021 ESC Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice. Eur Heart J, 42(34):3227-3337.
21. Lichtenstein AH, Appel LJ, Vadiveloo M, et al (2021). Dietary Guidance to Improve Cardiovascular Health: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation, 144(23):e472-e487.
22. Ahmed M, Eun JB (2018). Flavonoids in fruits and vegetables after thermal and nonthermal processing: A review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 58(18):3159-3188.
23. Zhu F, Du B, Xu B (2018). Anti-inflammatory effects of phytochemicals from fruits, vegetables, and food legumes: A review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 58(8):1260-1270.
24. Kopustinskiene DM, Jakstas V, Savickas A, et al (2020). Flavonoids as Anticancer Agents. Nutrients, 12(2):457.
25. Yousif MM, Kaddam LA, Humeda HS (2019). Correlation between physical activity, eating behavior and obesity among Sudanese medical students Sudan. BMC Nutr, 5:6.
26. Paans NPG, Gibson-Smith D, Bot M, et al. (2019) Depression and eating styles are independently associated with dietary intake. Appetite, 2019 Mar 1;134:103-110.
27. Ljungberg T, Bondza E, Lethin C. (2020) Evidence of the Importance of Dietary Habits Regarding Depressive Symptoms and Depression. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2020 Mar 2;17(5):1616.
28. Socolov S, Munteanu C, Alwan S, et al (2017). Socio-demographic characteristics, educational motivation and geo-cultural comfortability related to the process of adaptation of freshman international students in a Romanian university. Med. Surg. J, 121:787–793.
29. Yen DA, Cappellini B, Wang CL, et al (2018). Food consumption when travelling abroad: Young Chinese sojourners' food consumption in the UK. Appetite, 121:198-206.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 54 No 1 (2025) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| Keywords | ||
| Eating habits Lifestyle Physical activity Anxiety Depression | ||
| Rights and permissions | |
|
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
How to Cite
1.
Dimovic T, Janicijevic N, Stajic D, Djonovic N, Vasiljevic D, Vuckovic Filipovic J, Vojinovic R, Grujicic M, Potezica M, Radovanovic J, Selakovic V, Janicijevic K, Radovanovic S, Mihaljevic O, Sekulic M. Analysis of Correlation between Nutritional Behavior, Lifestyle and Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety among Students. Iran J Public Health. 2025;54(1):166-174.
