Associations of sleep duration and diet with depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms among primary and secondary school students

QIAN Hongdan; XIONG Chang; LI Zhijuan; CHEN Jiaqi

doi:10.11852/zgetbjzz2025-0103

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Chinese Journal of Child Health Care ›› 2026, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (9) : 959-963. DOI: 10.11852/zgetbjzz2025-0103

Child Mental Health and Emotional Problems

Associations of sleep duration and diet with depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms among primary and secondary school students

QIAN Hongdan, XIONG Chang, LI Zhijuan, CHEN Jiaqi

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Abstract

Objective To explore the association of sleep duration and diet with depression, anxiety and stress symptoms among primary and secondary school students, so as to provide reference for the promotion and intervention of mental health among primary and secondary school students. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted by multi-stage cluster random sampling on 12 156 primary and secondary school students in Wuxi from September to October 2023.The entries of the questionnaire on monitoring of common diseases and health influencing factors of students were used to assess the sleep time, dietary status, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress of primary and secondary school students.The χ² test was employed for between-group comparisons, and multivariate logistic regression models were utilised to analyze the independent and joint associations of sleep duration and diet with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Results The rates of inadequate sleep duration and unhealthy diet among students were 68.8% (8 368/12 156) and 91.4% (11 114/12 156), respectively.The detection rates of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms were 12.9%(1 574/12 156), 23.0%(2 797/12 156) and 9.5%(1 152/12 156), respectively.Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that inadequate sleep duration was positively associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress (OR=2.13, 2.23, 2.03, P<0.05), and an unhealthy diet was also positively associated with these symptoms (OR=2.49, 2.04, 2.00, P<0.05).An interaction effect between diet and sleep duration was observed for depression and anxiety symptoms.Compared with students who met both healthy diet and adequate sleep duration standards, those who failed to meet both had significantly higher risks of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms (OR=10.87, 6.83, 3.06, P<0.05). Conclusions Inadequate sleep duration and unhealthy diet are significantly associated with depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms among primary and secondary school students in Wuxi.Families, schools, and society should work together to ensure sufficient sleep and healthy eating habits to prevent and alleviate mental health problems in students.

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sleep / diet / depression / anxiety / stress

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QIAN Hongdan, XIONG Chang, LI Zhijuan, CHEN Jiaqi. Associations of sleep duration and diet with depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms among primary and secondary school students[J]. Chinese Journal of Child Health Care. 2026, 34(9): 959-963 https://doi.org/10.11852/zgetbjzz2025-0103

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