Exploring the Correlation between Nutritional Status, Macronutrient Intake, and Depression Symptoms among Medical Students: A Study at Halu Oleo University

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-392-4_6How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Depression Symptoms; Nutritional Status; Macronutrient Intake; Medical Students

Abstract

Nutritional status represents the balance between nutrient intake and physiological and psychological needs. The central nervous system and brain require adequate nutrient supply. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between nutritional status, macronutrient intake, and depression symptoms among medical students at Halu Oleo University, Class of 2022. This study used an analytical observational method with a cross-sectional approach conducted at the Faculty of Medicine, Halu Oleo University. A total of 126 participants were included using the total sampling technique. The dependent variable was depression symptoms, measured using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), while the independent variables were nutritional status and macronutrient intake. The SQ-FFQ questionnaire was used to assess macronutrient intake, and anthropometric data were collected to evaluate nutritional status. Data were analyzed using The Rank Spearman correlation test. Among the 126 participants, the findings revealed that 68.3% had minimal depression symptoms, 11.1% had mild symptoms, 15.9% had moderate symptoms, and 4.8% had severe symptoms. The statistical analysis showed a significant correlation (p < 0.05) between carbohydrate intake (p = 0.027, r = 0.197) and depression symptoms, showing a weak positive relationship. However, no significant correlations were found between nutritional status, protein intake, and fat intake with depression symptoms. The study revealed a correlation between carbohydrate intake and depression symptoms among medical students. These findings suggest the importance of considering the role of macronutrient intake, specifically carbohydrates, in relation to depression symptoms among medical students. Further research is recommended to explore other potential factors influencing the relationship between nutrition and mental health.

Copyright

© 2024 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - S. Junarlin
AU  - N. I. Nasruddin
AU  - E. H. Mujahid
AU  - A. Arimaswati
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/04/22
TI  - Exploring the Correlation between Nutritional Status, Macronutrient Intake, and Depression Symptoms among Medical Students: A Study at Halu Oleo University
BT  - Proceedings of the 1st International Conference Medical and Health Science Halu Oleo (IMHO 2023)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 54
EP  - 64
SN  - 2468-5739
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-392-4_6
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-392-4_6
ID  - Junarlin2024
ER  -