A Survey on the Relation between Consumption of Fruit and Vegetables and Depression, Anxiety and Stress in Students of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences

Depression exists in all walks of life and is regarded as an important indicator of mental health. The mental health of the medical students is particularly crucial because of the importance of their job and their performance being directly related to their mental health. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress and their relationship with the consumption of fruit and vegetables in students of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. This cross - sectional study was conducted on 200 students of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in 2013. Data were collected in a two-stage cluster sampling procedure and by using a questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: (1) demographic information and the DASS-21 questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using SPSS-16. The results indicated that all patients had moderate or higher level of depression; 42.4% suffered from moderate depression. Results also showed that 64.5% of the students had very severe anxiety and the rest had severe and moderate degrees of anxiety. Regarding stress, 35.6% of them suffered from severe stress and only 4.6% were normal. There was also a negative significant relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption with depression. Due to the high prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress in students, mental health problems in students can be reduced by increasing activating student's counseling centers and organizing workshops for mental health education.