The Predictive factors of anxiety and depression in a sample of biomedical sciences students: a pilot study

Depression and anxiety are most frequent among different mental disorders and the comorbidity between the two mental health outcomes has been found to be high. Taking into account that nearly 30% of medical students suffer from anxiety or depression in Europe, this study is unique as there has been no other publication so far that offers an assessment of the two mental health outcomes concurrently in a population of biomedical sciences students. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and predictive factors of anxiety and depression in a sample of biomedical sciences students. This cross-sectional research was carried out in March and April of 2020. 174 students of Biomedical Sciences of Vilnius University were investigated. The prevalence of case-level anxiety and depression was found in 33,3% and 4,6% of Lithuanian biomedical students' population, respectively. Students with potential anxiety hazards were related to psychosocial and economic circumstances. Students with potential depression hazards were related only to poor housing and/or economic circumstances (Odds Ratio (OR) 3,5, 95% CI: 1,3–9,6) and low income (OR 3,4, 95% CI: 1,1–10). Keywords: biomedical sciences; mental health; anxiety; depression; mental health disorders

Association between physical activity use and eating disorder symptomatology in a cohort of Lithuanian higher education biomedical and social sciences students: a cross-sectional study

Valgymo sutrikimai – tai psichikos sveikatos sutrikimai, kurie klasifikuojami į nervinę anoreksiją, nervinę bulimiją, persivalgymą ir nespecifinius valgymo sutrikimus. Valgymo sutrikimai tiesiogiai susiję tiek su valgymo elgesio sutrikimais, tiek ir su sutrikusiu kūno įvaizdžio suvokimu. Dabartiniu metu vis dar nėra bendro konsensuso, kaip apibrėžti, konceptualizuoti ar gydyti nustatytą valgymo sutrikimu sergančių žmonių per didelį fizinį aktyvumą. Tyrimo tikslas – įvertinti sąsajas tarp fizinio aktyvumo įpročių ir valgymo sutrikimų simptomų Lietuvos aukštųjų mokyklų medicinos ir sveikatos bei socialinių mokslų studentų kohortoje. Šis vienmomentinis skerspjūvio tyrimas apibendrino patikros rezultatus, susijusius su kliniškai svarbių valgymo sutrikimų simptomų paplitimu Lietuvos aukštųjų mokyklų 21,5 ± 4,4 metų amžiaus studentų populiacijoje (n = 1210) vėlyvosios paauglystės laikotarpiu. Tyrimo duomenimis, kas penktam (19,5 proc.) Lietuvos aukštųjų mokyklų medicinos ir sveikatos bei socialinių mokslų studentui būdingi kliniškai reikšmingi valgymo sutrikimų simptomai. Padidintas fizinis aktyvumas kaip rizikos veiksnys 5 kartus padidina kliniškai svarbių valgymo sutrikimų simptomų raiškos tikimybę (pritaikytas galimybių santykis (GSp )= 5,0, 95 proc. pasikliautinieji intervalai (PI): 3,6–6,9) ir turi sasajų su studentiško amžiaus žmonių sutrikusiu kūno įvaizdžio suvokimu (GSp = 4,3, 95 proc. PI: 3,1–6,1). Lietuvos aukštųjų mokyklų vykdomos prevencinės ir intervencinės programos, skirtos antsvorio ar nutukimo paplitimui tarp studentų vėlyvosios paauglystės laikotarpiu mažinti, papildomai turėtų integruoti uždavinius, susijusius su teigiamo kūno įvaizdžio suvokimo formavimu. Raktažodžiai: fizinis aktyvumas, valgymo sutrikimai, aukštųjų mokyklų studentai, psichikos sveikata.Eating disorders are a group of serious psychiatric disorders that are further classified into anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, unspecified feeding or eating disorder and those characterized by both abnormal eating behaviour and distorted body image. There is still no consensus at present on how to define, conceptualize or treat identified excess levels of physical activity in people with eating disorders. The aim of current study was to assess the association between problematic physical activity use and the symptoms of eating disorders in a sample of Lithuanian higher education biomedical and social sciences students. This cross-sectional study provides the results for the eating disorder symptom screening in 1 210 Lithuanian higher-education students aged 21.5 ± 4.4, during emerging adulthood. The increased risk for developing eating disorders is typical of almost one in five (19.5%) of higher-education students. Increased levels of physical activity as a risk factor increases the likelihood of manifestation of symptoms of clinically important eating disorders 5 (five) times (adjusted odds ratio (ORadj) = 5.0, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 3.6–6.9) and have the association with impaired perception of the body image in students (ORadj = 4.3, 95% CI: 3.1–6.1). Higher-education school-based intervention programs in reducing the prevalence of overweight or obesity among students during emerging adulthood should focus on integration directions for positive body-image development. Keywords: physical activity, eating disorder, higher-education students, mental health

Psychoactive substance effect on mental health and well-being focusing on student-aged Lithuanian cohort of sexual minorities

Mental health refers to cognitive, behavioral, and emotional well-being. However, significant research gaps are still found in disclosing the disparities in mental health outcomes between heterosexual and sexual minority (SM) individuals during the period of 20–24 years of age. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the association between the prevalence of psychoactive substance use and the severity of anxiety or depressive symptoms, and well-being across SM and non-SM student-aged populations (N = 1330). This cross-sectional study was conducted in Lithuania over the period of fifteen months following the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study concentrated on the mental health symptomatology, well-being status, and the prevalence of the psychoactive substance use, which were measured by three screening instruments. In terms of negative well-being, mental health problems, and health-risk behaviors, it was found that the SMs were potentially more exposed than the non-SMs. The current study also revealed a significant impact of substance use (alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking) on the symptoms of anxiety (adjusted odds ratios (AOR) 1.6 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.0–2.6), AOR 1.5 (95% CI: 1.0–2.2)), and negative well-being (AOR 1.7 (95% CI: 1.0–2.8), AOR 1.7 (95% CI: 1.1–2.5)) across the SM student-aged group. The association between the increased self-administration of cannabis and positive mental health outcomes appertained to milder anxiety symptoms amid SMs has been identified (AOR 0.5 (95% CI: 0.2–0.9)). Given that minority stressors could play an important part in mediating between the sexual orientation and negative outcomes of mental and behavioral health in student-aged populations, health strategies should focus on the development of effective substance abuse and drug prevention programs, both student-centered and SMs-centered, aimed to reduce health-risk behaviors in emerging adulthood

The Association between Rapid Weight Loss and Body Composition in Elite Combat Sports Athletes

Rapid Weight Loss (RWL) is a rapid reduction in weight over a short period of time seeking to attain the norm required for a competition in a particular weight category. RWL has a negative health impact on athletes including the significant muscle damage induced by RWL. This study aimed to identify the association between RWL and body composition among competitive combat athletes (n = 43) in Lithuania. Our focus was laid on the disclosure of their RWL practice by using a previously standardized RWL Questionnaire. The body composition of the athletes was measured by means of the standing-posture 8-12-electrode multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and the electrical signals of 5, 50, 250, 550 and 1000 kHz. This non-experimental cross-sectional study resulted in preliminary findings on the prevalence and profile of RWL among combat athletes in Lithuania. 88% of the athletes surveyed in our study had lost weight in order to compete, with the average weight loss of 4.6 ± 2% of the habitual body mass. The athletes started to resort to weight cycling as early as 9 years old, with a mean age of 12.8 ± 2.1 years. The combination of practiced weight loss techniques such as skipping meals (adjusted Odd Ratio (AOR) 6.3; 95% CI: 1.3–31.8), restricting fluids (AOR 5.5; 95% CI: 1.0–31.8), increased exercise (AOR 3.6; 95% CI: 1.0–12.5), training with rubber/plastic suits (AOR 3.2; 95% CI: 0.9–11.3) predicted the risk of RWL aggressiveness. RWL magnitude potentially played an important role in maintaining the loss of muscle mass in athletes during the preparatory training phase (β –0.01 kg, p < 0.001). Therefore, an adequate regulatory programme should be integrated into the training plans of high-performance combat sports athletes to keep not only the athletes but also their coaches responsible for a proper weight control

Dietary Intake of Protein and Essential Amino Acids for Sustainable Muscle Development in Elite Male Athletes

Athletes need to develop a relatively high muscle mass and low body adipose tissue for the sake of better athletic performance. A full range of nine essential amino acids and eleven non-essential amino acids have to attend in appropriate amounts for protein biosynthesis. The aim of the observational comparative cross-sectional study was to assess the association between the diet quality profile and training-induced muscle mass estimated by bioelectrical impedance among elite male athletes. The research sample comprised 18.1 ± 3.1 year-old Lithuanian professional male athletes (n = 234). The study participants were enrolled to complete 24-h dietary recalls of three non-consecutive days. The body composition was assessed using the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) method. The present study showed a significant insufficiency of the mean carbohydrate intake of 5.7 g/kg/day in a group of aerobic male athletes. The lower muscle mass of aerobic male athletes was related to the lower-carbohydrate diet (adjusted odd ratio (ORadj) 0.3; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.1–0.7). The mean protein intake of 1.8 g/kg/day was optimal for anabolism in the samples of both anaerobic and aerobic male athletes. The protein intake in appropriate doses was potentially associated with an increase in muscle mass only in anaerobic male athletes (ORadj 2.2; 95% CI: 1.3–3.7). The positive relationship was revealed between the possible muscle mass gain and the increased intakes of amino acids such as isoleucine and histidine among anaerobic athletes (ORadj 2.9; 95% CI: 1.1–4.7 and ORadj 2.9; 95% CI: 1.0–4.3, respectively). An inverse feasible association was indicated between a higher intake of valine and lower muscle mass quantities among anaerobic male athletes (ORadj 0.1; 95% CI: 0.1–0.5). The recommendations for sports nutritionists should emphasize the necessity of advising professional athletes on dietary strategies on how to manipulate dietary amino acid composition with respect to achieving long-term body composition goals

Psychoactive Substance Effect on Mental Health and Well-Being Focusing on Student-Aged Lithuanian Cohort of Sexual Minorities

Mental health refers to cognitive, behavioral, and emotional well-being. However, significant research gaps are still found in disclosing the disparities in mental health outcomes between heterosexual and sexual minority (SM) individuals during the period of 20–24 years of age. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the association between the prevalence of psychoactive substance use and the severity of anxiety or depressive symptoms, and well-being across SM and non-SM student-aged populations (N = 1330). This cross-sectional study was conducted in Lithuania over the period of fifteen months following the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study concentrated on the mental health symptomatology, well-being status, and the prevalence of the psychoactive substance use, which were measured by three screening instruments. In terms of negative well-being, mental health problems, and health-risk behaviors, it was found that the SMs were potentially more exposed than the non-SMs. The current study also revealed a significant impact of substance use (alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking) on the symptoms of anxiety (adjusted odds ratios (AOR) 1.6 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.0–2.6), AOR 1.5 (95% CI: 1.0–2.2)), and negative well-being (AOR 1.7 (95% CI: 1.0–2.8), AOR 1.7 (95% CI: 1.1–2.5)) across the SM student-aged group. The association between the increased self-administration of cannabis and positive mental health outcomes appertained to milder anxiety symptoms amid SMs has been identified (AOR 0.5 (95% CI: 0.2–0.9)). Given that minority stressors could play an important part in mediating between the sexual orientation and negative outcomes of mental and behavioral health in student-aged populations, health strategies should focus on the development of effective substance abuse and drug prevention programs, both student-centered and SMs-centered, aimed to reduce health-risk behaviors in emerging adulthood

Potential Triggers for Risking the Development of Eating Disorders in Non-Clinical Higher-Education Students in Emerging Adulthood

Nowadays, eating disorders (ED) among individuals during emerging adulthood have become a crucial challenge to public health, taking into account the fact that the global prevalence of the ED risk in student-aged populations already stands at 10.4% and has been sharply increasing during the COVID-19 pandemic. In all, from 50% to 80% of all the ED cases go undetected or are not correctly diagnosed; moreover, these individuals do not receive specialized treatment. Therefore, early diagnosis detected via screening questionnaires for ED is highly recommended. This study aimed to identify the triggers for ED risk development in emerging-adulthood individuals and to reveal the factors significant not only for ED prevention but also for assessing individuals with subthreshold symptoms. This cross-sectional study provides the results for the ED symptom screening in 1716 Lithuanian higher-education students aged 21.2 ± 3.9, during emerging adulthood. According to the results of this study, 19.2% of students were at risk for ED. Potential risk factors such as sex (odds ratio (OR): 3.1, 95% CI: 1.9–4.9), body weight (self-reported body mass index) (adjusted (A) OR: 1.4; 95% CI: 1.2–1.7) and comorbidities such as smoking (AOR: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.6–2.8), and perceived stress during the pandemic (AOR: 1.4; 95% CI: 1.1–1.8) are involved in anticipating the symptomatology of ED during emerging adulthood. Regular initial screenings with universally adopted questionnaires and further referral to a psychiatrist must be applied to promote both the diagnosis of early-onset symptomatology and the treatment of these ED in student-aged populations. Preventive programs for reducing the prevalence of overweight or obesity among students during emerging adulthood should focus on integration directions for the development of a positive body image