Depression and its correlation with social support and health-promoting lifestyles among Chinese university students: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

ObjectivesTo investigate the prevalence of depression in college students and determine how social support and healthy lifestyle factors are associated with depression in this population.DesignA cross-sectional design.SettingA comprehensive university in Changsha, Hunan, South China. The study was conducted from May to June 2019.ParticipantsA total of 541 students at the comprehensive university.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, Social Support Rating Scale and Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II (HPLP-II) were used to evaluate depression, social support and lifestyles, respectively, and analyse the mutual relationships among them.ResultsAmong the 541 participants, 161 (29.8%) experienced depressive symptoms, and there were significant gender-related and academic discipline-related differences in self-rated depression. The average social support score was 38.06 (38.06±7.52). The average HPLP-II score was 71.09 (71.09±11.47). A monofactor analysis showed that depression was correlated with social support and a healthy lifestyle. As demonstrated by logistic regression analysis, being a woman (OR=2.613, 95% CI: 1.541 to 4.43), inadequate social support (OR=0.912, 95% CI: 0.877 to 0.948), poor nutrition (OR=0.87, 95% CI: 0.775 to 0.977) and lack of self-actualisation (OR=0.644, 95% CI: 0.572 to 0.724) were significantly correlated with depression.ConclusionsOwing to the high prevalence of depression among Chinese university students, educational institutions must take measures such as providing compulsory mental health education courses and improving the psychological counselling services available to students.

Prevalence and Predictors of Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms Among International Medical Students in China During COVID-19 Pandemic

“…During the COVID-19 outbreak, for most of the time, online courses were the only teaching method. Unlike the offline courses at the university campus when the attendance is usually required, online learning students rely more on self-discipline in their schedule; but when there was local time difference with the school day, students were more likely to stay up late, which made them prone to depression ( 58 ). In this sense, in student management, more counseling and instructions are needed to help students develop good study habits and healthy lifestyle.…”

Influencing factors, prediction and prevention of depression in college students: A literature review

“…Third, unhealthy sleeping habits such as daytime sleepiness[ 20 , 34 ], poor sleep quality[ 21 ], and short[ 35 ] or long sleep duration[ 10 ] may lead to depressive symptoms. Fourth, unhealthy nutritional habits are also among the crucial factors that are strongly correlated with depression[ 36 ]. From the perspective of dietary structure and nutritional habits, individuals with depression often report excessive intake of high-fat snacks and margarine/butter/meat fat and inadequate intake of fruits, vegetables, and lean protein[ 30 ].…”

Sleep quality, social rhythms, and depression among people living with HIV: a path analysis based on social zeitgeber theory

“…Depression severity was investigated using the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) compiled by Zung ( 51 ), which has been widely used and validated in China ( 52 , 53 ). The original language of the scale is English, and the Chinese version was translated by Wang et al ( 54 ).…”