Associations between family social circumstances and psychological distress among the university students of Bangladesh: To what extent do the lifestyle factors mediate?

Abstract

Background While there is a growing body of empirical studies focusing on the social and behavioral predictors of psychological health, the mechanisms that may underlie the reported associations have not been adequately explored. This study aimed to examine the association of social and lifestyle factors with psychological distress, and the potential mediating role of the lifestyle factors in the estimated associations between social circumstances and psychological distress. Methods A total of 742 tertiary level students (53% females) from a range of socio-economic backgrounds and multiple educational institutions participated in this cross-sectional study. The 12-items General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was utilized for measuring psychological distress. Data related to students’ socio-demographic characteristics, family social circumstances, and lifestyle factors were also collected. Modified Poisson regression analysis was used to estimate the risk ratios (RR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results The multivariable regression analysis suggests heightened risks of psychological distress associated with low parental Socio-Economic Position (SEP) (RR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.07, 1.76), childhood poverty (RR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.55), and living away from the family (RR: 1.28; 95% CI: 1.07, 1.54). Among the lifestyle factors, past smoking, physical inactivity, inadequate fruit intake, and poor sleep quality were strongly associated with psychological distress and these associations persisted when the family social circumstances and lifestyle factors were mutually adjusted for. The lifestyle factors did not considerably mediate the estimated associations between family social circumstances and psychological distress. Conclusion The social and lifestyle factors operated independently to increase students’ risk of psychological distress. Accordingly, while promoting students’ healthy lifestyles may reduce the overall burden of psychological distress, any equity initiative aiming to minimize the social inequalities in psychological health should be targeted to improving the living conditions in early life.

Anxiety and Stress Related to COVID-19 Among the Community Dwelling Older Adults Residing in the Largest Refugee Camp of the World

“…Explanatory variables considered in this study were selected based on extensive literature review (Huda et al, 2021 ; Lou et al, 2012 ; Mistry et al, 2021b ; Perez et al, 2001 ; Renner et al, 2021 ; Stubbs et al, 2017 ; Tinghög et al, 2017 ). We considered age (categorized as 60–69, and ≥ 70), sex (male/female), marital status (married/without partner), formal education (yes/no), household size (≤ 4 or > 4), monthly family income in Bangladeshi Taka (BDT) where 1 USD ~ 90 BDT (Living on aid alone, have some additional income, current occupation (employed/unemployed or retired), living arrangements (living alone or with family), walking distance to the nearest health centre (< 30 min/ ≥ 30 min), currently suffering from any non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) (yes/no), level of physical activity (regular at least 2–4 h per week/none or sedentary), feeling concerned about COVID-19 (hardly, sometimes/often), feeling overwhelmed by COVID-19 (hardly, sometimes/often), close friend or family member previously diagnosed with COVID-19 (no or not sure/yes), frequency of communication with friends and family during COVID-19 (less than previous/same as previous), difficulty in obtaining food, earning money and getting routine medical care during COVID-19 (no/yes) as explanatory variables in the study.…”

Change in prevalence over time and factors associated with depression among Bangladeshi older adults during theCOVID‐19 pandemic

“…Given the complex interconnectedness between physical and mental health, a Bangladeshi study among 400 people aged ≥65 years recommended that older adults with chronic conditions should be screened for depression in the early stages and given the best possible care 36 . Some common lifestyle factors such as smoking, physical activity, and sleep quality 59 may describe the interconnectedness between physical and mental health 60,61 . Moreover, people with non‐communicable chronic conditions need routine medical check‐ups and medications and may be stressed about inaccessibility to those needs during the pandemic due to transportation restrictions, closure of health facilities, subsequent shortage of medicines, and overwhelmed healthcare centres with COVID‐19 patients in Bangladesh 17,62,63 .…”

Determinants of financial stress among university students and its impact on their performance

“…Though tuition fees for tertiary level students have not increased, because of impact of COVID students demanded to hold off tuition fees during pandemic (Lim et al, 2014). There is limited study on financial stress of tertiary level students of Bangladesh (Huda et al, 2021) though a lot of studies have conducted on mental stress of the students (Arusha and Biswas, 2020;Kabir et al, 2021;Al Mamun et al, 2021). Hossain et al (2019) mentioned that students who are experiencing increased levels of financial distress that may call for a referral to an appropriate professional.…”

“…, 2014). There is limited study on financial stress of tertiary level students of Bangladesh (Huda et al. , 2021) though a lot of studies have conducted on mental stress of the students (Arusha and Biswas, 2020; Kabir et al.…”