Social Smoking and Mental Health Among Chinese Male College Students.

PURPOSE: China has a high prevalence of smoking, but the characteristics of social smoking in Chinese college students have not been investigated. We examined the pattern of social smoking and explored the association between social smoking and personal cessation efforts and mental health factors among Chinese male college students. DESIGN: Study design was a cross-sectional survey. SETTING: P. R. China was the setting of the study. SUBJECTS: Participants were a random sample of 1327 male college students. MEASURES: All participants completed a self-administered questionnaire that examined their smoking behaviors and a group of specific mental health factors (loneliness, self-harm, suicide, depression, and anxiety). ANALYSIS: Analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, χ2 analysis, and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Of a total of 207 current smokers, 102 (49.3%) were identified as social smokers. Compared with nonsmokers, social smokers had increased risks for depression (odds ratio, 1.74; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-2.65). Among daily smokers, social smokers were less likely to have an intention to quit smoking than nonsocial smokers (odds ratio, .08; 95% confidence interval, .01-.57). CONCLUSION: This study reveals unique psychologic characteristics related to social smoking. College students are a particular group of interest because unhealthy behaviors initiated during adolescence may continue through adulthood. Our findings provide evidence for future tobacco control intervention among this population.

Associations between multiple health risk behaviors and mental health among Chinese college students.

Although there is substantial evidence that health risk behaviors increase risks of premature morbidity and mortality, little is known about the multiple health risk behaviors in Chinese college students. Here, we investigated the prevalence of multiple health risk behaviors and its relation to mental health among Chinese college students. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Wuhan, China from May to June 2012. The students reported their health risk behaviors using self-administered questionnaires. Depression and anxiety were assessed using the self-rating depression scale and self-rating anxiety scale, respectively. A total of 2422 college students (1433 males) aged 19.7 ± 1.2 years were participated in the study. The prevalence of physical inactivity, sleep disturbance, poor dietary behavior, Internet addiction disorder (IAD), frequent alcohol use and current smoking was 62.0, 42.6, 29.8, 22.3, 11.6 and 9.3%, respectively. Significantly increased risks for depression and anxiety were found among students with frequent alcohol use, sleep disturbance, poor dietary behavior and IAD. Two-step cluster analysis identified two different clusters. Participants in the cluster with more unhealthy behaviors showed significantly increased risk for depression (odds ratio (OR): 2.21; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.83, 2.67) and anxiety (OR: 2.32; 95% CI: 1.85, 2.92). This study indicates that a relatively high prevalence of multiple health risk behaviors was found among Chinese college students. Furthermore, the clustering of health risk behaviors was significantly associated with increased risks for depression and anxiety.

Urban-Rural Differences in Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study of Schoolchildren in Wuhan, China.

BACKGROUND: China's rapid population growth and urban migration has developed healthcare inequity across the urban-rural divide. Past studies comparing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor prevalence amongst urban-rural Chinese children are sparse and conflicting. We examined the association between urban-rural residence and risk of offspring CVD in Chinese children. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Wuhan, China, during May and June 2010. CVD risk factors include; waist circumference (WC), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting blood glucose (FBG), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), metabolic syndrome (MetS), and metabolic risk score (MRS). Analysis of covariance and multivariable logistic regression were used to estimate associations between urban-rural residence and offspring CVD risks. FINDINGS: A total of 579 Chinese children (338 boys and 241 girls) aged 9.6 (0.7) years participated in this study. Rural boys had significantly lower CRF and higher FBG, TG, and MRS, while urban boys had significantly higher LDL and DBP. Rural girls had significantly higher BMI, FBG, and TG, as well as lower CRF. Rural children were at increased risks for decreased CRF, elevated MRS, and TG, (OR:2.04, 95%CI:1.29-3.25), (OR:2.33, 95%CI:1.50-3.62), and (OR:2.40, 95%CI:1.62-3.57), respectively. Rural girls and mothers were at increased risks for overweight(OR:7.19, 95%CI:1.64-31.6)/obesity (OR:1.683, 95%CI:1.01-2.82). However, rural boys and fathers were less likely to have overweight(OR:0.62, 95%CI:0.34-1.12)/obesity (OR:0.68, 95%CI:0.48-0.97). CONCLUSIONS: Rural residence was significantly associated with increased CVD risks amongst Chinese children. It is important to provide interventions aiming at China's urban-rural healthcare inequity and community-based approaches that reduce familial CVD risk.

Parental weight status and offspring cardiovascular disease risks: a cross-sectional study of Chinese children.

INTRODUCTION: Prevalence of childhood obesity in China is increasing, and parental weight is a risk factor for the development of obesity in children. We examined the relationship of parental body weight status with risk of offspring cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Chinese children. METHOD: We conducted a cross-sectional study in Wuhan, China, during May and June 2010. Parental body mass index (BMI) was calculated according to self-reported height and weight. Offspring CVD risk factors, including BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting glucose, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and metabolic risk score (MRS), were assessed through anthropometric measures, blood samples, and a CRF test. Multiple linear regression and analysis of covariance were used to examine the effects of maternal and paternal weight status on offspring CVD risks. RESULTS: A total of 580 Chinese children (339 boys and 241 girls, mean [standard deviation] age, 9.6 [0.7] years) participated in the study. Maternal BMI was significantly associated with offspring elevated BMI (ß = 0.134, P = .002), waist circumference (ß = 0.253, P = .04), and decreased CRF (ß = -0.134, P = .01). Paternal BMI was significantly associated with elevated offspring BMI (ß = 0.161, P < .001), waist circumference (ß = 0.404, P < .001), triglycerides (ß = 0.017, P = .03), MRS (ß = 0.084, P = .03), and decreased CRF (ß = -0.174, P < .001). BMI (P < .001), waist circumference (P < .001), and MRS (P < .05) were positively associated with additional overweight/obese parents, whereas CRF was negatively associated (P < .001). CONCLUSION: Parental weight status was significantly associated with increased risk of CVD in their children, and the association was stronger for paternal weight status.

Associations of physical activity, screen time with depression, anxiety and sleep quality among Chinese college freshmen.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the independent and interactive associations of physical activity (PA) and screen time (ST) with depression, anxiety and sleep quality among Chinese college students. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Wuhan University, China from November to December 2011. The students reported their PA, ST and socio-economic characteristics using self-administered questionnaires. Sleep quality was measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Depression and anxiety were assessed using the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), respectively. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the independent and interactive relationships of PA and ST with depression, anxiety and sleep quality. RESULTS: A total of 1106 freshmen (471 females and 635 males) aged 18.9±0.9 years were included in the study. After adjustment for potential confounders, high PA and low ST were independently associated with significantly lower risks for poor sleep quality (OR: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.30-0.78) and depression (OR: 0.67, 95%CI: 0.44-0.89), respectively. An interactive inverse association was observed for combined effects of PA and low ST on depression (OR: 0.62, 95%CI: 0.40-0.92) and sleep quality (OR: 0.51, 95%CI: 0.27-0.91). No statistically significant associations were found between PA, ST and anxiety among the participants. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest an independent and interactive relationship of high PA and low ST with significantly reduced prevalence of depressive problems and favorable sleep quality among Chinese college freshmen.