Prevalence of depression and the association between depressive symptoms and dietary behaviors among students in Beijing / 中国学校卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To investigate the relationship between depressive symptoms and dietary behaviors among middle school and college students in Beijing，so as to provide the basis for carrying out related research and intervention.@*Methods@#A total of 18 130 middle school and college students from 16 districts in Beijing were collected through stratified cluster sampling from October to December, 2020. The relationship between middle school and college students depressive symptoms and dietary behaviors was analyzed by conducting a questionnaire.@*Results@#The detection rate of depressive symptoms was 18.2%. The detection rate of depressive symptoms in girls was 19.0%, which was higher than 17.4% in boys( P <0.05), and the differences were of statistical significance( χ 2=8.47, P <0.01). The detection rate of depressive symptoms in city was 17.9%, and in 10 urban areas was 18.5 %( P > 0.05 ), and the differences were of statistical significance( χ 2=1.15, P =0.28). The detection rates of depressive symptoms in vocational high school (21.8%) and high school students(20.6%) were and, higher than that in college students (18.2%) and in junior high school students(15.2%), and the differences were of statistical significance( χ 2=100.38, P <0.01). The rates of students with depressive symptoms drinking sugary drinks(14.4%), eating sweets (22.1%) and eating fried foods every day (12.4%) were higher than that of students without depressive symptoms(7.6%, 12.0%, 5.9%), and the differences were of statistical significance( χ 2=154.62, 215.67, 164.49, P <0.01). The rates of eating fresh fruits(63.3%), vegetables (81.7%) and breakfast every day (53.4%) of the students with depressive symptoms were lower than those without depressive symptoms (72.0%, 88.1%, 74.1%), and the differences were of statistical significance( χ 2=90.77, 90.59, 518.69, P <0.01) Logistic regression analysis showed that the detection rate of depression was the important factor of influencing dietary behaviors( P <0.05).@*Conclusion@#The detection rates of depressive symptoms of vocational high school students and senior high school students in Beijing are higher than those of junior high school students and college students. Depression is closely related to dietary behaviors. Promoting students mental health may help promote students healthy eating.