Mental Health Among University Students, Using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire.

Context: To date, researchers have found that poor mental health was common during the COVID-19 epidemic. Even if they had been relatively resistant to suicidal ideation during the first three waves of the pandemic, university students may experience a delayed impact on their mental health. Objective: The study intended to measure mental health among university students in Wuhu City, China and to identify an effective approach to universities can use to prevent mental-health issues. Design: The research team performed a cross-sectional study. Setting: The study took place at Anhui polytechnic university, Wuhu, China. Participants: Participants were 2371 students at Anhui polytechnic university in Wuhu city, China. Outcome Measures: The research team used the two-item General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) to measure participants' mental health. Results: Among the 2371 participants, 1727 had poor mental health (72.84%), including 843 males (48.81%) and 884 females (51.19%). Poor mental health was significantly associated with an urban residential location (P > .01), the female gender (p>0.01), the second school year (P > .01), and the parents' education level of junior high school or below (both P > .01). Conclusions: The current study suggests that poor mental health among university students is common. Being female, from an urban area, and in the second year of school and having parents with an education of junior high school or below had poorer mental health than those who were male, from the countryside, and in the first year of school and who had parents with a higher level of education.

Sleep Quality Of College Students During COVID-19 Outbreak In China: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: Poor sleep quality among college students is a global problem. Chinese college students were required to home quarantine, social distance and participate in online learning during the COVID-19 epidemic. This study aimed to investigate the sleep quality of college students during the epidemic and identify the factors related to poor sleep quality. Methods: Study participants completed an online survey that included questionnaires about sleep symptoms and lifestyle during the COVID-19 outbreak. The study participants included 3416 college students (mean age 20.4 ± 1.8 years). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to measure sleep quality, and a PSQI score >7 was defined as poor sleep quality. A logistic regression model was used to analyze the factors related to sleep quality. Results: The percentage of college students with poor sleep quality was 15.97 % in southern Anhui province during the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of the students were female (67.4%) and most were from urban areas (53.9%). Single-parent (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.39; 95% CI, 1.02-1.89) domestic violence incidents ≥5×/yr (aOR, 3.68; 95% CI, 1.70 to 7.96), nap time >4 hr/d (aOR, 1.90; 95% CI, 25-2.90) were significantly associated with poor sleep quality. While knowledge of COVID-19 was prevalent (aOR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.96) light exercise >1 hour/day (aOR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.28 to 0.78), parent-accompanied exercise >3×/wk (aOR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.38 to 0.90) were protective factors against poor sleep quality. Conclusions: The present study found that college students in single-parent families and students who had experienced domestic violence had a high risk of poor sleep quality during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. College students who were familiar with COVID-19 and had light exercise habits or parent-accompanied exercise habits had better sleep quality. At the time of writing, COVID-19 was still pandemic worldwide, so targeted sleep health interventions must be established to actively guide college students' healthy living habits. In addition, the sleep disorders and other health problems that may occur in college students should be dealt with in advance, and should be part of the routine work of global disease prevention.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of obesity among university students.

BACKGROUND: Obesity, as an epidemic disease, is distributed among all age groups, including children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly. The goal of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) concerning obesity among university students. METHODS: In total, 1,317 questionnaires were filled out by 1,317 (466 male and 851 female) randomly selected students aged range from 16 to 24. All participants agreed to provide personal information in this study. A self-designed questionnaire was applied to collect demographic characteristics and assess the KAP of obesity. Gender, height, weight, grade, sleep and income were included in the population questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the respondent rate of KAP among students. RESULTS: In the survey, 64.9% of respondents believed that obesity was a disease. Only a few people cared about their body shape. Most of the participants in the study had practices that were detrimental to their health, including irregular dieting (52.9%), surfing the internet, and playing games (58.5%) in their spare time. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified that lacking knowledge of obesity was common among college students. Most respondents had a positive attitude about preventing obesity by focusing on dieting and exercise. Thus, education related to obesity should be strengthening among university students to translate attitude into practice.

Psychological distress and its associated risk factors among university students.

OBJECTIVE: Psychological distress is an important mental health problem among university students. The goal of this study was to determine psychological distress and its associated risk factors among students in the Anhui province. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 1304 students. In this study, a self-administered questionnaire consisting of the general demography and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was completed. Psychological distress was assessed using the GHQ-12-item questionnaire. A dichotomous category split was imposed on the GHQ-12 for the purpose of analysis. A GHQ-12 score of 4 or higher indicated psychological distress. The data were analyzed by SPSS 20.0 system. RESULTS: A total of 1304 samples were analyzed in this study. The results indicated that the education level of the father and mother was associated with the students' psychological distress (P<0.001). A significant association was found between high-intensity exercise and low-intensity exercise and psychological distress. However, no significant difference was identified between gender and psychological distress (P=0.173). CONCLUSION: The education level of parents, high-intensity exercise, and low-intensity exercise were associated with psychological distress. Our results suggest that it is indispensable to raise awareness of psychological disorders and its associated risk factors among university students. Further studies are required to develop appropriate interventions for high-risk groups.

Serum iron levels are negatively correlated with serum triglycerides levels in female university students.

BACKGROUND: Dyslipidemia is common among the general population, and its prevention is urgently needed particularly for the health of students. The purpose of our study was to explore the relationship between serum iron level and blood lipids. METHODS: A sample of 290 university students was collected in this cross-section study. The blood lipids and serum iron levels were determined. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to determine the correlation between serum iron level and blood lipids. RESULTS: The prevalence of dyslipidemia was 8.8% among male students and 5.4% among female students. The overall prevalence of dyslipidemia was7.2% among the total students. The results showed that serum iron level was negatively correlated with triglyceride (TG), but was positively correlated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL)-cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL)-cholesterol, and total cholesterol (TC) in female students. Female students with serum iron less than 15 mmol/L had higher levels of serum TG than female students with serum iron 15 mmol/L or above (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that lower serum iron levels may be a risk factor of high serum TG in female students. Supplementation of iron may be a strategy for prevention of high serum TG in female students.

Psychological distress and its associated risk factors among university students

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE Psychological distress is an important mental health problem among university students. The goal of this study was to determine psychological distress and its associated risk factors among students in the Anhui province. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of 1304 students. In this study, a self-administered questionnaire consisting of the general demography and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was completed. Psychological distress was assessed using the GHQ-12-item questionnaire. A dichotomous category split was imposed on the GHQ-12 for the purpose of analysis. A GHQ-12 score of 4 or higher indicated psychological distress. The data were analyzed by SPSS 20.0 system. RESULTS A total of 1304 samples were analyzed in this study. The results indicated that the education level of the father and mother was associated with the students' psychological distress (P<0.001). A significant association was found between high-intensity exercise and low-intensity exercise and psychological distress. However, no significant difference was identified between gender and psychological distress (P=0.173). CONCLUSION The education level of parents, high-intensity exercise, and low-intensity exercise were associated with psychological distress. Our results suggest that it is indispensable to raise awareness of psychological disorders and its associated risk factors among university students. Further studies are required to develop appropriate interventions for high-risk groups.

RESUMO OBJETIVO O estresse psicológico é um importante problema de saúde mental entre estudantes universitários. O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar o estresse psicológico e seus fatores de risco associados entre os estudantes na província de Anhui. MÉTODOS Um estudo transversal foi realizado entre uma amostra de 1.304 indivíduos. Nesse estudo, foi preenchido um questionário autoaplicável que consiste na demografia geral e no Questionário Geral de Saúde (GHQ-12). O problema psicológico foi avaliado utilizando o questionário GHQ de 12 itens. Uma divisão dicotômica de categoria foi imposta ao GHQ-12 para efeito de análise. Uma pontuação de quatro ou mais no GHQ-12 mostrava que um indivíduo tem problemas psicológicos. Os dados foram analisados pelo software SPSS 20.0. RESULTADOS Um total de 1.304 amostras foi analisado neste estudo. Os resultados indicaram que o nível de educação do pai e da mãe estava associado com estudantes em estresse psicológico (P<0,001). Foi encontrada uma associação significativa entre o exercício de alta intensidade e o exercício de baixa intensidade com o estresse psicológico. No entanto, não foi identificada qualquer diferença significativa entre o gênero e o estresse psicológico (P=0,173). CONCLUSÃO O nível de educação dos pais, exercícios de alta intensidade e exercícios de baixa intensidade foram associados com estresse psicológico. Nossos resultados sugerem que é indispensável aumentar a sensibilização para as perturbações psicológicas e para os fatores de risco associados aos estudantes universitários. São necessários mais estudos para desenvolver intervenções adequadas para grupos de alto risco.

Measuring physical performance in university students.

Physical activity could be an effective way to prevent obesity and cardiovascular disease. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to evaluate physical performance in Chinese university students to offer a basis for preventing obesity. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted for evaluate physical performance, including the standing long jump, 50-meter dash, and pull-up/sit-up test. RESULTS: The overall mean time of the 50-meter dash, standing long jump distance, and mean number of pull-ups was 7.98 seconds, 2.2773 meters, and 4.1041, respectively. For female students, the overall mean time for the 50-meter dash, standing long jump distance, and mean number of sit-ups was 9.89 seconds, 2.6191 meters, and 26.7997, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that physical performance in Chinese university students is poor; related departments should pay more attention to the physical health of university students.