Zarizi Ab Rahman, Salmi Razali, Mohd Sazili Shahibi, Mohd Nazrul Mohd Amin, Azlan Ahmad Kamal, Sali Rahadi Asih, Haaris Hakimi Rashidi, Mohd Izwan Bin Shahril

Healthy Lifestyle Components and Mental Health among Undergraduate Students

Introduction

Healthy lifestyle components and mental health among undergraduate students. Explore how healthy lifestyle components like diet, sleep, and physical activity impact mental health in undergraduate students. Discover key predictors for effective interventions.

Abstract

Background: Mental health issues among undergraduates have gained attention inrecent years due to their rising incidence. Healthy lifestyle components like sleepquality, diet, physical activity, substance abuse, and social support may affect mentalhealth. Thus, recognizing the most important components of a healthy lifestyle allows relevant parties to execute suitable treatments. Objective: This study aims toidentify predictors of a healthy lifestyle on mental health. A cross-sectional studywas carried out on a randomly selected sample of 180 undergraduate students aged18 to 30. Significant predictors of healthy lifestyle components were identified usingAHLQ and DASS 21 instruments. Methods: This research is quantitative researchwith a nested case-control study design, using electronic medical record (EMR) datafrom the Central Java Provincial Hospital in 2023. The variables in this study weregender, age, education level, employment status, marital status, health insurancestatus, BMI, DM diet, duration of DM, hypertension, other diseases, current bloodglucose, and HbA1c. The analysis used was univariate, bivariate, and multivariateanalysis (logistic regression). Results: The findings indicate a significant relationship between a healthy diet and mental health, and a healthy diet contributes 25% ofvariances, while 29% of mental health variance was attributed to the combinationof a healthy diet and PA. Furthermore, 31% of mental health variance is attributedto sleep quality variables, and a combination of healthy diet, PA, sleep quality, andsubstance abuse contributes to 34% of mental health variance. Conclusion: Thisstudy provides insights to stakeholders in terms of incorporating healthy lifestylecomponents in mental health intervention strategies for undergraduate students. Itwas concluded that such interventions should focus on promoting a healthy dietsince it is the most significant measure of good mental health.

Review

This study addresses a highly relevant and timely topic: the relationship between healthy lifestyle components and mental health among undergraduate students, a demographic increasingly facing mental health challenges. The objective of identifying predictors within lifestyle factors such as sleep quality, diet, physical activity, substance abuse, and social support on mental well-being is commendable, as understanding these links can inform targeted interventions. The abstract highlights some significant findings, noting specific contributions of diet, physical activity, sleep quality, and substance abuse to the variance in mental health, which could offer valuable insights for stakeholders aiming to improve student well-being. However, the abstract presents a critical and fundamental inconsistency that severely undermines its credibility and clarity. The "Methods" section describes a completely different study design and set of variables than what is outlined in the "Background" and "Objective." Specifically, it details a quantitative nested case-control study using electronic medical record (EMR) data from a hospital in Central Java, examining variables like gender, age, education, BMI, DM diet, duration of DM, blood glucose, and HbA1c. This entirely contradicts the stated aim of studying undergraduate students, their lifestyle components, and the use of AHLQ and DASS 21 instruments. This discrepancy is a major flaw that suggests either a copy-paste error from another paper or a severe lack of coherence in the research design and reporting. Additionally, the abstract lacks sufficient detail regarding the specific measurement and scoring of the healthy lifestyle components beyond naming the instruments, and while variance percentages are provided, more comprehensive statistical reporting including specific effect sizes, confidence intervals, and p-values for individual predictors would strengthen the results section. Given the significant conceptual and methodological inconsistencies in the abstract, it is impossible to provide a definitive assessment of the study's quality or its reported findings. While the topic is undoubtedly important and the potential findings could be impactful, the presented abstract is unpublishable in its current form due to the severe misalignment between the stated objectives/background and the detailed methodology. Before any further consideration, the authors must meticulously revise the entire abstract, particularly the Methods section, to accurately reflect the study described in the Background and Objective, ensuring all elements are coherent and consistently presented. Once this fundamental issue is rectified, a more thorough review of the study design, execution, and interpretation of results can be conducted.

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