Mosli Rana, Alsulami Hajer, Alghamdi Raghad, Kutbi Hebah
Department of Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Nutr Metab Insights. 2024 Dec 19;17:11786388241308183. doi: 10.1177/11786388241308183. eCollection 2024.
University students are often exposed to various stressors related to academic demands, which increases their susceptibility to psychological distress. Intake of omega-3 fatty acid (N-3 FA) has been found to be negatively correlated with both depression and eating disorder symptoms in non-Saudi individuals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the following among female undergraduate students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: (1) prevalence of psychological distress and binge eating disorder (BED); (2) Association between intake of N-3 FA sources and psychological distress; (3) Association between intake of N-3 FA sources and BED. This is a cross-sectional study including 149 female students enrolled in King Abdulaziz University. Participants completed an online questionnaire consisting of previously validated questions that evaluate psychological distress (Kessler 10), BED (Eating Disorders Diagnostic Scale), and N-3 FA intake. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were performed to analyze the data. The prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe psychological distress was 21.5%, 28.9%, and 28.20%, respectively. The prevalence of BED was 3.40%. Participants who consumed fish at least once per week for 6 months had significantly lower odds of moderate or severe psychological distress (odds ratio (OR): 0.34, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.13, 0.86, -value: .02). We did not detect significant associations between intake of N-3 FA sources and BED. Prevalence of psychological distress was higher what has been previously reported in other studies. However, prevalence of BED in our Saudi sample was lower than what has been previously found in other samples. Intake of N-3 FA from fish sources might be associated with lower odds of psychological distress but not with BED. Future studies are needed in order to further establish the need for developing educational programs to enhance N-3 FA intake for promoting mental wellbeing particularly among female young adults.
大学生经常面临与学业要求相关的各种压力源，这增加了他们患心理困扰的易感性。在非沙特人群中，发现摄入omega-3脂肪酸（N-3 FA）与抑郁和饮食失调症状均呈负相关。本研究的目的是评估沙特阿拉伯吉达的女大学生中的以下情况：（1）心理困扰和暴饮暴食症（BED）的患病率；（2）N-3 FA来源的摄入量与心理困扰之间的关联；（3）N-3 FA来源的摄入量与BED之间的关联。这是一项横断面研究，纳入了阿卜杜勒阿齐兹国王大学的149名女学生。参与者完成了一份在线问卷，其中包括先前经过验证的评估心理困扰（凯斯勒10项量表）、BED（饮食失调诊断量表）和N-3 FA摄入量的问题。进行描述性统计和逻辑回归分析以分析数据。轻度、中度和重度心理困扰的患病率分别为21.5%、28.9%和28.20%。BED的患病率为3.40%。每周至少吃一次鱼持续6个月的参与者出现中度或重度心理困扰的几率显著较低（优势比（OR）：0.34，95%置信区间（CI）：0.13，0.86，P值：.02）。我们未发现N-3 FA来源的摄入量与BED之间存在显著关联。心理困扰的患病率高于其他研究先前报道的水平。然而，我们沙特样本中BED的患病率低于其他样本中先前发现的水平。从鱼类来源摄入N-3 FA可能与较低的心理困扰几率相关，但与BED无关。未来需要开展研究，以进一步确定是否有必要制定教育计划来增加N-3 FA的摄入量，以促进心理健康，特别是在年轻女性中。
