Rebecca L Hagedorn1, Melissa D Olfert1, Lillian MacNell2, Bailey Houghtaling3, Lanae B Hood4, Mateja R Savoie Roskos5, Jeannine R Goetz6, Valerie Kern-Lyons7, Linda L Knol8, Georgianna R Mann9, Monica K Esquivel10, Adam Hege11, Jennifer Walsh12, Keith Pearson13, Maureen Berner14, Jessica Soldavini15, Elizabeth T Anderson-Steeves16, Marsha Spence16, Christopher Paul17, Julia F Waity18, Elizabeth D Wall-Bassett19, Melanie D Hingle20, E Brooke Kelly21, J Porter Lillis21, Patty Coleman22, Mary Catherine Fontenot23. 1. Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, & Design, West Virginia University, 1194 Evansdale Drive, Agricultural Sciences Building, Room G025, Morgantown, WV26506, USA. 2. Department of Public Health, Campbell University, Buies Creek, NC, USA. 3. School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Louisiana State University AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA, USA. 4. Department of Nutrition, Health, & Human Performance, Meredith College, NC, USA. 5. Department of Nutrition, Dietetics & Food Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA. 6. Department of Dietetics & Nutrition, The University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA. 7. Sauk Valley Community College, Dixon, IL, USA. 8. Department of Human Nutrition & Hospitality Management, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA. 9. Department of Nutrition & Hospitality Management, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, USA. 10. Department of Human Nutrition, Food, & Animal Sciences, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, USA. 11. Department of Health & Exercise Science, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA. 12. Department of Health Professions, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USA. 13. Department of Nutrition & Dietetics, School of Public Health, Samford University, Birmingham, AL, USA. 14. School of Government, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. 15. Center for Health Promotion & Disease Prevention, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. 16. Department of Nutrition, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA. 17. Department of Public Administration, North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC, USA. 18. Department of Sociology & Criminology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, USA. 19. School of Health Sciences, Nutrition & Dietetics Program, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC, USA. 20. Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA. 21. Department of Sociology & Criminal Justice, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Pembroke, NC, USA. 22. Cooperative Research, Extension, & Education Services, Northern Marianas College, Saipan, MP, Northern Mariana Islands. 23. School of Human Ecology, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between food insecurity, sleep quality, and days with mental and physical health issues among college students. DESIGN: An online survey was administered. Food insecurity was assessed using the ten-item Adult Food Security Survey Module. Sleep was measured using the nineteen-item Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Mental health and physical health were measured using three items from the Healthy Days Core Module. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to assess the relationship between food insecurity, sleep quality, and days with poor mental and physical health. SETTING: Twenty-two higher education institutions. PARTICIPANTS: College students (n 17 686) enrolled at one of twenty-two participating universities. RESULTS: Compared with food-secure students, those classified as food insecure (43·4 %) had higher PSQI scores indicating poorer sleep quality (P < 0·0001) and reported more days with poor mental (P < 0·0001) and physical (P < 0·0001) health as well as days when mental and physical health prevented them from completing daily activities (P < 0·0001). Food-insecure students had higher adjusted odds of having poor sleep quality (adjusted OR (AOR): 1·13; 95 % CI 1·12, 1·14), days with poor physical health (AOR: 1·01; 95 % CI 1·01, 1·02), days with poor mental health (AOR: 1·03; 95 % CI 1·02, 1·03) and days when poor mental or physical health prevented them from completing daily activities (AOR: 1·03; 95 % CI 1·02, 1·04). CONCLUSIONS: College students report high food insecurity which is associated with poor mental and physical health, and sleep quality. Multi-level policy changes and campus wellness programmes are needed to prevent food insecurity and improve student health-related outcomes.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between food insecurity, sleep quality, and days with mental and physical health issues among college students. DESIGN: An online survey was administered. Food insecurity was assessed using the ten-item Adult Food Security Survey Module. Sleep was measured using the nineteen-item Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Mental health and physical health were measured using three items from the Healthy Days Core Module. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to assess the relationship between food insecurity, sleep quality, and days with poor mental and physical health. SETTING: Twenty-two higher education institutions. PARTICIPANTS: College students (n 17 686) enrolled at one of twenty-two participating universities. RESULTS: Compared with food-secure students, those classified as food insecure (43·4 %) had higher PSQI scores indicating poorer sleep quality (P < 0·0001) and reported more days with poor mental (P < 0·0001) and physical (P < 0·0001) health as well as days when mental and physical health prevented them from completing daily activities (P < 0·0001). Food-insecure students had higher adjusted odds of having poor sleep quality (adjusted OR (AOR): 1·13; 95 % CI 1·12, 1·14), days with poor physical health (AOR: 1·01; 95 % CI 1·01, 1·02), days with poor mental health (AOR: 1·03; 95 % CI 1·02, 1·03) and days when poor mental or physical health prevented them from completing daily activities (AOR: 1·03; 95 % CI 1·02, 1·04). CONCLUSIONS: College students report high food insecurity which is associated with poor mental and physical health, and sleep quality. Multi-level policy changes and campus wellness programmes are needed to prevent food insecurity and improve student health-related outcomes.