Abstract
Dormitory-residing university students are at-risk of mental health problems related to unhealthy diets. The purpose of this study was to assess the association between dietary inflammatory potential and mental health of dormitory-residing female university students. This cross-sectional study was comprised of 260 undergraduate females residing in dormitories of the largest university in United Arab Emirates during Spring 2019. The Energy-adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index (E-DIITM) scores calculated from 37 food parameters were derived from two 24-h dietary recalls. The logistic regression analysis was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs for the E-DII score in relation to depression, anxiety, and stress. The E-DII scores (mean = 2.98 ± 1.17) were categorized into: tertile 1 (−1.96–2.62), tertile 2 (2.63–3.52), and tertile 3 (3.53–5.60), representing less to more proinflammatory diets. Students in the E-DII tertile 3 had significantly higher depression, anxiety, and stress scores. The logistic regression analysis showed that each point increase in the E-DII score was associated with symptoms of stress (OR = 1.41; 95% CI: 1.12–1.77; p = 0.003) and anxiety (OR = 1.35; 95% CI: 1.07–1.69; p = 0.01). Relative to students in the E-DII tertile 1, those students in the E-DII tertile 3 were more likely to be at higher risk of stress and anxiety ORE−DIItertile3vs1 = 2.89 (1.44–5.79) and 2.88 (1.49–5.56), respectively. Overall, stress and anxiety were associated with proinflammatory diets in dormitory-residing female university students, suggesting the need for targeted interventions to increase the anti-inflammatory capacity of diet and improve mental wellbeing in students on university campuses.
Highlights
University students are considered a relatively healthy segment of population, they are at an increased risk of physical and mental health issues [1, 2]
Studies investigating associations of mental health attributes with dietary inflammatory potential using the E-DII scores among university students are rare and those focusing on students residing in university dormitories are not available
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to focus on university dormitory students aimed at examining the association between diet-associated inflammation and mental health measures including depression, anxiety, and stress
Summary
University students are considered a relatively healthy segment of population, they are at an increased risk of physical and mental health issues [1, 2]. Higher rates and frequencies of physical health problems and mental health disorders have been reported in female than male university students [4, 5]. This is consistent with other research showing that female medical students in the United States tend to have higher rates of depression than male medical students [6]. Poor dietary habits pose serious threats to an increased risks of obesity in university students [7]. High prevalence of depression (62.2%), anxiety (78.3%), and stress (55.9%) was reported among university students in Malaysia [5]. Awadalla et al [10] found depression in 34.2% and anxiety in 22.3% of university students in United Arab Emirates (UAE) [10]
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