Urban Air Pollution and Mental Stress: A Nationwide Study of University Students in China
Background: Studies exploring the relationship between air pollution levels and mental stress have rarely been done, and no studies have been done comparing university student mental stress levels based on regional air pollution levels.Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the asso...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.685431/full |
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| author | Weifang Zhang Sihui Peng Jialu Fu Ke Xu Huihui Wang Yu Jin Tingzhong Yang Randall R. Cottrell |
| author_facet | Weifang Zhang Sihui Peng Jialu Fu Ke Xu Huihui Wang Yu Jin Tingzhong Yang Randall R. Cottrell |
| author_sort | Weifang Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Studies exploring the relationship between air pollution levels and mental stress have rarely been done, and no studies have been done comparing university student mental stress levels based on regional air pollution levels.Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between air pollution and mental stress among university students.Methods: Participants were 11,942 students, who were identified through a multistage survey sampling process conducted in 50 universities. Regional air pollution levels were retrieved from a national database, and mental stress was measured using a perceived stress scale. Both unadjusted and adjusted methods were utilized in the data analyses.Results: Mental stress prevalence was 36.9% (95% Confidence Interval: 24.4–49.5%). The final model indicated that regional air pollution levels were positively associated with students' mental stress.Conclusions: This study provided new and direct evidence of the health hazards of air pollution. The findings underscore the need to develop and implement stringent environmental protection policies, while simultaneously raising public awareness of environmental protection. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T06:12:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-41488dc521a946739fc341caf7825fb8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T06:12:16Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-41488dc521a946739fc341caf7825fb82022-12-21T22:41:21ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652021-07-01910.3389/fpubh.2021.685431685431Urban Air Pollution and Mental Stress: A Nationwide Study of University Students in ChinaWeifang Zhang0Sihui Peng1Jialu Fu2Ke Xu3Huihui Wang4Yu Jin5Tingzhong Yang6Randall R. Cottrell7The Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, ChinaSchool of Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, ChinaThe Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, ChinaEpidemiology Department, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United StatesThe Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Research of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, ChinaZhejiang University Educational Foundation, Hangzhou, ChinaWomen' s Hospital/Center for Tobacco Control Research, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, ChinaPublic Health Program, School of Health and Applied Human Sciences, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC, United StatesBackground: Studies exploring the relationship between air pollution levels and mental stress have rarely been done, and no studies have been done comparing university student mental stress levels based on regional air pollution levels.Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between air pollution and mental stress among university students.Methods: Participants were 11,942 students, who were identified through a multistage survey sampling process conducted in 50 universities. Regional air pollution levels were retrieved from a national database, and mental stress was measured using a perceived stress scale. Both unadjusted and adjusted methods were utilized in the data analyses.Results: Mental stress prevalence was 36.9% (95% Confidence Interval: 24.4–49.5%). The final model indicated that regional air pollution levels were positively associated with students' mental stress.Conclusions: This study provided new and direct evidence of the health hazards of air pollution. The findings underscore the need to develop and implement stringent environmental protection policies, while simultaneously raising public awareness of environmental protection.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.685431/fullair pollutionmental stresspublic healthenvironmental policyuniversity students |
| spellingShingle | Weifang Zhang Sihui Peng Jialu Fu Ke Xu Huihui Wang Yu Jin Tingzhong Yang Randall R. Cottrell Urban Air Pollution and Mental Stress: A Nationwide Study of University Students in China Frontiers in Public Health air pollution mental stress public health environmental policy university students |
| title | Urban Air Pollution and Mental Stress: A Nationwide Study of University Students in China |
| title_full | Urban Air Pollution and Mental Stress: A Nationwide Study of University Students in China |
| title_fullStr | Urban Air Pollution and Mental Stress: A Nationwide Study of University Students in China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Urban Air Pollution and Mental Stress: A Nationwide Study of University Students in China |
| title_short | Urban Air Pollution and Mental Stress: A Nationwide Study of University Students in China |
| title_sort | urban air pollution and mental stress a nationwide study of university students in china |
| topic | air pollution mental stress public health environmental policy university students |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.685431/full |
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