Care Their Diet and Mind: Association between Eating Habits and Mental Health in Chinese Left-behind Children

Liang, Kaixin; Chen, Sitong; Chi, Xinli

doi:10.3390/nu14030524

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…However, in rural China, many parents might have left their hometowns to work in distant places, resulting in more than 61 million children being left behind [78]. Rural adolescents lacking close parental supervision and protection were more vulnerable to bullying victimization due in part to their lack of self-esteem, sense of security, or unhealthy lifestyles [66,[79][80][81]. Furthermore, the current study indicated that rural adolescents living in a nuclear family and not boarding at school experienced a higher risk of poly-bullying victimization than their urban counterparts, which to some extent was not surprising because poly-bullying victimization was associated with paternal problematic behaviors such as excessive alcohol consumption [82].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are Rural–Urban Differences in Bullying and Poly-Bullying Victimization Associated with Internet Addiction or Depressive Symptoms among Adolescents in Jiangsu Province of China

Huang,

Wang,

Xue

et al. 2023

Future

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Background: School bullying is a global problem. Although previous studies showed rural adolescents were at higher risk of being bullied compared to their urban counterparts, the rural–urban differences in the risk of bullying or poly-bullying victimization in relation with different characteristics and the joint association of internet addiction and depressive symptoms with the observed urban–rural disparities are unclear. Objective: We aim to investigate the rural–urban differences in bullying or poly-bullying victimization among adolescents and whether the observed rural–urban differences are associated specifically with internet addiction or depression. Methods: This cross-sectional study considered a total of 25,377 Grade 7 to 12 adolescents from the ‘Surveillance for Common Disease and Health Risk Factors among Students’ project implemented in Jiangsu Province in 2019. Rurality of residence was ascertained via the Regulation of Statistical Classification. We used Poisson regression to estimate the age–sex adjusted rate ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for bullying and poly-bullying victimization. Results: Approximately 20.26% (95%CI: 16.11–25.47%) and 7.67% (5.48–10.74%) rural adolescents experienced bullying and poly-bullying, in comparison with 16.50% (12.65–21.52%) and 5.81% (4.34–7.78%) urban adolescents, respectively. Rural adolescents had 14% and 23% higher rates of bullying victimization (RR: 1.14, 95%CI: 1.03–1.26) and poly-victimization (RR: 1.23, 95%CI: 1.05–1.44) than their urban counterparts. When further controlled for internet addiction, the observed rural–urban disparities increased among adolescents with depressive symptoms, whereas diminished among those without depressive symptoms.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are Rural–Urban Differences in Bullying and Poly-Bullying Victimization Associated with Internet Addiction or Depressive Symptoms among Adolescents in Jiangsu Province of China

Huang,

Wang,

Xue

et al. 2023

Future

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“…Another study reported that the weighted prevalence of anemia and stunting among LBC was 26.5% and 16.6%, respectively, and emphasized the household food insecurity associated with both conditions [9]. Furthermore, studies have shown that LBC are more likely to have poor lifestyles, including internet addiction [10], smoking [11], excessive drinking [12], and skipping breakfast [13], compared with non-left-behind-children (NLBC). LBC are also at risk of suffering from various psychological problems [14][15][16],…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between left-behind characteristics and children’s psychological symptoms: A cross-sectional study from China

Liu,

Xu,

Sun

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background Parents-child separation poses a significant challenge for children who are left behind (LBC). However, limited empirical evidence exists regarding the correlation between left-behind characteristics and the psychological symptoms of LBC. This study investigated psychological symptoms among LBC and explored associations between left-behind characteristics and those symptoms. Methods Using stratified cluster sampling, 1,832 LBC aged 13–18 years from three cities in East China were selected for analysis. Participants’ depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) and the General Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7), respectively. Chi-square tests were used to compare differences in detection rates of psychological symptoms among LBC in different groups. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to infer associations between left-behind characteristics and psychological symptoms. Results our study showed that depression and anxiety symptoms were detected in 32.86% and 33.24%, respectively, of participating LBC. Univariate analysis showed statistically significant differences in detection rates of depression symptoms by gender, grade, and timing of parent-child separation. Statistically significant differences were observed in anxiety symptom rates by gender, grade, type of caregiver, and timing of mother-child separation. Multivariate analysis indicated a positive association between LBC’s anxiety symptoms and mother-child separation that occurred during post-primary school, and type of caregiver (father only or mother only). Our findings confirm a positive correlation between left-behind characteristics and anxiety symptoms among LBC. Conclusion The timing of mother-child separation and type of caregiver are potential risk factors for the development of anxiety symptoms in this population.

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“…One study focused on preschoolers in rural China suggested that dietary diversity was related to improving children's mental health ( 6 ). Liang et al centered on left-behind children and found that lower frequencies of eating breakfast and fruits were significant factors associated with higher risks of mental health problems ( 23 ). Epidemiological evidence based on large populations and centered around specific food categories is desiderated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between food intake and mental health problems among preschoolers in China

Jin¹,

Liang²,

Miao³

et al. 2022

Front. Public Health

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ObjectiveOur knowledge of associations between specific types of food and mental health problems in preschool children, an important developmental period, remains scarce. Using a large sample size and a brief measure, we aimed to examine associations between food groups and mental health problems in preschoolers.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 19,548 preschoolers in nine counties in China using a two-stage cluster sampling method. Information on food frequencies, physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep conditions was collected by a parent-reported questionnaire. Mental health status was assessed by a parent-reported Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire (SDQ). Height and weight were measured, and BMI was calculated. Relationships between specific types of food groups and mental health status were examined using multivariable regression modeling.ResultsOf the present study sample, 47.45% of children were girls. Boys had higher scores relating to total difficulties, conduct problems, hyperactivity, and peer problems than girls but lower scores in emotional symptoms and prosocial behavior. Children with more types of food categories tended to get lower SDQ total scores even after adjusting for confounding variables (p < 0.0001). The subscale scores of SDQ varied depending on the types and numbers of food consumed. Notably, boys' mental health problems were more likely to be associated with their consumed food type. Processed meat frequency intake among boys and girls was positively related to prosocial behavior (Girls: pickled food: p = 0.003, fried food: p < 0.0001, barbecued food: p = 0.006, smoked food: p = 0.005; Boys: pickled food: p = 0.3, fried food: p < 0.0001, barbecued food: p = 0.006, smoked food: p = 0.005) and negatively associated with the SDQ total and the other subscale scores (Girls: pickled food: p ≤ 0.02, fried food: p ≤ 0.005 except for emotions (p = 0.1), barbecued food: p ≤ 0.047, smoked food: p ≤ 0.04 (except for emotions (p = 0.06) and conduct behaviors (p = 0.2)); Boys: pickled food: p < 0.01 except for hyperactivity (p = 0.5), fried food: p ≤ 0.005 except for emotions (p = 0.1), barbecued food: p ≤ 0.007 except for hyperactivity (p = 0.8), smoked food: p ≤ 0.001 except for hyperactivity (p = 0.1) and peer problem (p = 0.08)). Adequate intake frequency of confectionery (2–4 times/week) was beneficial to their emotions, conduct, and total difficulties and was also beneficial for peer and prosocial behavior for boys (Girls: emotions: p = 0.02, conduct: p = 0.02, hyperactivity: p = 0.4, peer: p = 0.06, total difficulties: p = 0.01, prosocial behavior: p = 0.1; Boys: emotions: p = 0.009, conduct: p = 0.0009, hyperactivity: p = 0.7, peer: p = 0.02: total difficulties: p = 0.003, prosocial behavior: p = 0.0002).ConclusionDiverse food categories and adequate frequency of confectionery were found to be beneficial for children's mental health, with the exception of processed meat. These findings provide novel information and supportive data for children's dietary guidelines and the improvement of mental health.

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Care Their Diet and Mind: Association between Eating Habits and Mental Health in Chinese Left-behind Children

Cited by 11 publications

References 34 publications

Are Rural–Urban Differences in Bullying and Poly-Bullying Victimization Associated with Internet Addiction or Depressive Symptoms among Adolescents in Jiangsu Province of China

Are Rural–Urban Differences in Bullying and Poly-Bullying Victimization Associated with Internet Addiction or Depressive Symptoms among Adolescents in Jiangsu Province of China

Associations between left-behind characteristics and children’s psychological symptoms: A cross-sectional study from China

Association between food intake and mental health problems among preschoolers in China

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