AUTHOR=Wang Xinzhu , He Xinyu , Fu Kaixian , Zhang Yuxia 

TITLE=The influence of early diet quality on the mental health of college students: the mediation effects of height and qi-deficiency

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1363866

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2024.1363866

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Background</title><p>In China, the prevalence of mental health issues among college students is a significant concern in society. This study aims to investigate the impact of early dietary quality on the psychological well-being of college students and elucidate the underlying mechanisms through which these effects occur, specifically focusing on height and <italic>qi</italic>-deficiency as mediators according to Chinese traditional medicine (CTM).</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Methods</title><p>A total of 655 college students were surveyed in October 2023 using paper-pencil-based questionnaires at four second-tier universities in Sichuan Province. The assessment included mental health, height, and <italic>qi</italic>-deficiency. Pearson’s correlation and linear regression analyses were employed to examine the mediation model and test the hypotheses.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Results</title><p>The college students exhibited acceptable levels of early diet quality (<italic>M</italic> = 3.72) and mental health (<italic>M</italic> = 3.63), while also presenting mild <italic>qi</italic>-deficiency symptoms (<italic>M</italic> = 2.25). Their average height was measured at 164.61 cm. Early diet quality demonstrated significant associations with mental health (<italic>r</italic> = 0.38, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01), height (<italic>r</italic> = 0.32, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01), and <italic>qi</italic>-deficiency (<italic>r</italic> = −0.32, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01). Mental health displayed correlations with height (<italic>r</italic> = 0.32, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01) and <italic>qi</italic>-deficiency (<italic>r</italic> = −0.49, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01). The results of linear regression analyses revealed significant associations between early diet quality and mental health (<italic>β</italic> = 0.31, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01), height (<italic>β</italic> = 0.21, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01), as well as <italic>qi</italic>-deficiency (<italic>β</italic> = −0.26, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01). Furthermore, when early diet quality was included in the regression model, both height (<italic>β</italic> = 0.21, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01) and <italic>qi</italic>-deficiency (<italic>β</italic> = −0.35, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01) emerged as significant mediators in the relationship with mental health.</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Conclusion</title><p>The mediation model and hypotheses were strongly supported, demonstrating that early diet quality exerted an influence on the mental health of college students through two distinct pathways: height and <italic>qi</italic>-deficiency. Moreover, the mediating effect of <italic>qi</italic>-deficiency was found to be more pronounced than that of height in the relationship between early diet quality and mental health among college students.</p></sec>