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

Moro, Giuseppina Lo; Corezzi, M; Bert, Fabrizio; Buda, Alessia; Gualano, Maria Rosaria; Siliquini, Roberta

doi:10.1080/07448481.2021.1970567

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Also, our study showed an association between psychological well-being and adherence to the Mediterranean diet in health science students. This correlates with the findings of Lo Moro and colleagues, who discovered a statistically significant relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean diet and total score on the WEMWBS questionnaire among students from the University of Turin in Italy [ 63 ]. They showed moderate well-being among students, with an average value of 46 points (IQR 41–46) [ 63 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Possible responses to each of the statements are: never; rarely; sometimes; often; always, all the time. By summing the answers, the total score indicates a sense of well-being, and by applying the cut-off values, the score can be interpreted as low (≤40 points), medium (41 to 59 points), and high well-being (≥60 points) [ 63 ]. The total score of the questionnaire is 70, and the lowest score is 14 [ 62 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Differences between Health and Non-Health Science Students in Lifestyle Habits, Perceived Stress and Psychological Well-Being: A Cross-Sectional Study

Marendić,

Aranza,

Aranza

et al. 2024

Nutrients

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The aim of this study was to investigate lifestyle habits in health and non-health science students from the University of Split, Croatia, and to evaluate their association with perceived stress and psychological well-being. We surveyed 783 students during February–March 2021. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used in the analysis. Health science students spent less time using screens, were sitting less, slept less, but also showed better compliance with the Mediterranean diet compared to non-health science students (10.6% vs. 5.9%). There were no differences in stress and well-being perception between the two study groups. Female gender, lack of sleep, less daily sitting time, anxiety, and lower optimism were associated with higher stress in non-health science students, while anxiousness and more sitting were found to be significant among health students. Well-being among health science students was positively associated with BMI, having had COVID-19, being refreshed after waking up during working days, Mediterranean diet adherence, health perception, optimism, and quality of life, and negatively with TV time and anxiousness. Shorter sleep duration on non-working days, feeling refreshed after waking up on non-working days, higher quality of life and optimism, and lower anxiousness were associated with higher well-being among non-health students. Identifying unhealthy lifestyle habits in students is essential for implementing targeted interventions to better their health outcomes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differences between Health and Non-Health Science Students in Lifestyle Habits, Perceived Stress and Psychological Well-Being: A Cross-Sectional Study

Marendić,

Aranza,

Aranza

et al. 2024

Nutrients

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

“…Positive associations between the adherence to the Mediterranean-style diet and better well-being were described previously in other studies [ 36 , 37 , 38 ]. Lo Moro et al [ 38 ] in a group of 502 Italian students (76.1% females, median age 23 years) found that the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing scale score gradually increased with higher adherence to the Mediterranean-style diet ( p -value < 0.001). Also, López-Olivares et al [ 36 ] in a group of 272 Spanish students (64.7% women, mean age 21 ± 4 years) indicated that strict adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet was associated with a positive emotional state assessed via the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (β = 0.018, p -value = 0.009).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

Mediterranean-Style Diet and Other Determinants of Well-Being in Omnivorous, Vegetarian, and Vegan Women

et al. 2023

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Due to the lack of studies comparing the determinants of well-being in omnivores and vegetarians, we examined associations of socio-demographic and lifestyle factors, including adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet, in relation to well-being in omnivorous, vegetarian, and vegan women. Well-being was assessed using a validated WHO-5 Well-Being Index. Adherence to the Mediterranean-style diet was determined using a modified Mediterranean diet score. The study was conducted on 636 women (23.9 ± 5.7 years), of whom 47.3% were omnivores, 33.2% vegetarians, and 19.5% vegans. The good well-being group (WHO-5 Index ≥ 13 points) comprised 30.9% of the omnivores, 46.0% of the vegetarians, and 57.3% of the vegans. The remaining participants were classified as belonging to the poor well-being group (<13 points). Compared to the omnivores, the vegetarians and vegans had a 1.6-fold (95% CI: 1.04–2.42) and a 2.4-fold (95% CI: 1.45–3.99) higher probability of having good well-being, respectively. In omnivores, the predictors of good well-being were adherence to the Mediterranean-style diet (a 1-score increment was associated with a 17% higher probability of good well-being, P-trend = 0.016), higher self-perceived health status, and lower levels of stress. In vegetarians and vegans, it was older age, higher physical activity (≥3 h/week), 7–8 h sleep time, and similarly to omnivores’ higher self-perceived health status and lower stress level. Our findings indicate that following a Mediterranean-style diet was associated with better well-being in omnivores. Furthermore, we identified that different determinants were associated with well-being in omnivorous and vegetarian and vegan women.

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“…There were 13 identified studies investigating the influence of diet quality on general mental well-being, of which 12 found significant associations. Out of the six studies that used a diet quality measure, four concluded that poor diet quality was negatively associated with mental well-being [ 39 , 46 , 69 , 70 ], and one concluded that good diet quality was positively associated with mental well-being [ 71 ]. One study found a positive association of diet quality with positive emotional state, but no association with negative emotional state [ 72 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A systematic review of the association of diet quality with the mental health of university students: implications in health education practice

Solomou

Logue

Reilly

et al. 2022

Health Education Research

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University students are at risk of experiencing mental health problems during the transition from home to university. This transition can also adversely affect their diet quality. This review aims to examine bidirectional associations from observational studies regarding the influence of diet quality on the mental health of university students, and vice versa. The databases PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, PsycINFO, The Cochrane Library and Web of Science were searched using relevant search terms. The searches were last updated on 15 July 2022. Majority of studies (36 out of 45) found that good diet quality of students was associated with better mental health in terms of depression, anxiety, stress and overall general mental well-being. Moreover, majority of studies (19 out of 23) found that stress and anxiety of students were associated with poorer diet quality. The effect sizes observed were generally small–moderate. Healthy diets of students have been associated with better mental health in terms of depression, anxiety, stress or other mental health issues. Stress experienced by university students has been associated with unhealthy diets. There are implications for health education research, as interventions to improve diet quality at the university level could reduce mental health issues; additionally, interventions to support students under stress may lead to healthier dietary habits when living on campuses. Randomized controlled trials and intervention studies are needed to further investigate these implications.

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

Cited by 11 publications

References 67 publications

Differences between Health and Non-Health Science Students in Lifestyle Habits, Perceived Stress and Psychological Well-Being: A Cross-Sectional Study

Differences between Health and Non-Health Science Students in Lifestyle Habits, Perceived Stress and Psychological Well-Being: A Cross-Sectional Study

Mediterranean-Style Diet and Other Determinants of Well-Being in Omnivorous, Vegetarian, and Vegan Women

A systematic review of the association of diet quality with the mental health of university students: implications in health education practice

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