文章基本信息

标题：Relationships between Dairy and Calcium Intake and Mental Health Measures of Higher Education Students in the United States: Outcomes from Moderation Analyses
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作者：Chen Du ; Pao Ying Hsiao ; Mary-Jon Ludy 等
期刊名称：Nutrients
电子版ISSN：2072-6643
出版年度：2022
卷号：14
期号：4
DOI：10.3390/nu14040775
语种：English
出版社：MDPI Publishing
摘要：Background: The prevalence of mental health concerns among university students in the United States (U.S.) continues to increase, while current treatments, including medication and counseling, present shortcomings. Higher dairy and calcium intakes are associated with protective effects on mental health; however, previous studies have focused on investigating singular relationships between dairy and calcium intakes and mental health measures. A more complex exploration of these relationships is warranted to better examine whether increasing dairy and calcium intakes could serve as an intervention to improve mental health. The present study sought to further characterize the relationships between dairy and calcium intake, perceived stress, and a variety of mental health measures using linear regression and moderation analyses. Methods: The present cross-sectional study involved students studying at three large U.S. universities, and data collection occurred from April to May 2020 when students were learning remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey comprising validated tools was distributed among students to assess dairy and calcium intake, perceived stress, anxiety, negative and positive moods, rumination, and resilience, sleep quality and duration, dietary risk, and physical activity. Results: A total of 1233 students completed the study. Higher dairy and calcium intake was coincident with lower perceived stress and higher positive mood scores, while higher calcium intake was also coincident with lower anxiety, rumination, and higher resilience scores. Additionally, as calcium intake increased, the relationship between perceived stress and anxiety and the relationship between perceived stress and negative mood weakened. Dairy intake did not have this effect. Conclusions: Based on the results, and considering that calcium is a shortfall nutrient, universities should consider initiating programs and public health campaigns to promote dairy and calcium intake among this population.
关键词：enmental healthdairycalciumCOVID-19 pandemicuniversity students