Habits, Orthorexia Nervosa and LIfestyle in STudents

NCT04252924 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: USplitSM2
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 5,000
• Locations: 7 countries
• Sites: 8

Brief Summary

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) compose a substantial proportion of the global burden of diseases, posing a significant challenge in both high-income and low- and middle-income countries. In particular, certain lifestyle-related risk factors, such as unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and sleep deprivation are the leading risk factors, which place people at an increased risk of developing NCDs. On the other hand, a growing phenomenon of excessive concern about diet and health is emerging, and it is contributing to the development of a novel eating behavior disorder named orthorexia nervosa. According to recent studies, orthorexic behavior is very common among young adults and especially so in health-care professionals. The main objective of this multi-center study is to explore and compare lifestyle habits among undergraduate medical students and other healthcare-related professions from different countries (Croatia, Lebanon, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Turkey). The goal is to obtain information on the presence of unhealthy habits in order to be able to intervene, offering the information needed for primordial disease prevention in this young and still healthy group of respondents, who are the health educators and role models of the future. The particular importance of this goal is to raise awareness of the problem of the ubiquitously present unhealthy lifestyles. Unfortunately, health-care students are not the exception regarding the prevalence of the unhealthy diet, sedentary behavior, sleep deprivation and high levels of psychological stress. Furthermore, the adoption of unhealthy lifestyle patterns in health-care workers, such as doctors and nurses, will have far-reaching negative consequences, in both their health and their patients' health. The results of this study will be used for identifying the needs and targets for intervention, enabling students to become a pillar of health education for their patients and the population in general.

Conditions

Habits; Health Behavior; Diet Habit; Sleep; Stress; Physical Activity

Keywords

Mediterranean diet; physical activity; sleep; stress; orthorexia nervosa

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• the Mediterranean diet adherence

  Based on the modern Mediterranean diet pyramid and assessed using the scoring system called Mediterranean Diet Serving Score (MDSS; PubMed ID: 26035442). This score has a minimum value of 0 and a maximum value of 24, where the higher score indicates a better compliance with the Mediterranean diet. Additionally, a cut-off point of 14 and more was proposed to indicate the good adherence to the Mediterranean diet.

  1 day

• moderate to vigorous level of physical activity

  Based on self-reported data using a questionnaire called International Physical Activity Questionnaire - Short Form (IPAQ-SF; PubMed ID: 12900694). The MET-min (the metabolic equivalent of task) per week are calculated as: MET level x minutes of activity x events per week. Higher number of MET-min per week denotes higher level of physical activity (a better outcome). Details on the scoring protocol can be found at: https://sites.google.com/site/theipaq/scoring-protocol

  1 day

• sleep duration

  Based on self-reported data using a questionnaire (time of going to sleep and waking up)

  1 day

• stress level

  Based on self-reported data using a questionnaire called Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; PubMed ID: 6668417). The scale has a minimum score of 0 and a maximum of 40, where higher score indicates higher perceived stress during last month.

  1 day

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Orthorexia nervosa

  1 day

• Orthorexia nervosa

  1 day

Study Arms (1)

students

medical student, dental medicine student, pharmacy student, nursing student, physiotherapy student, dietetics student, kinesiology student, biomedical laboratory techniques student, biomolecular science student, psychology student, economy student, student of maritime sciences

Other: lifestyle characteristics

Interventions

lifestyle characteristics OTHER

Exposures of interest: Mediterranean diet, orthorexia nervosa, smoking, physical activity, sleep duration, stress level

students

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 16 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population includes the overall student population from the following universities: University of Split (Split, Croatia), University of Pavia (Pavia, Italy), University of Foggia (Foggia, Italy), Koc University (Istanbul, Turkey), Beirut Arab University (Beirut, Lebanon), University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Katowice, Poland), University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca (Cluj-Napoca, Romania), Universidad Pablo De Olavide (Sevilla, Spain)

You may qualify if:

• students enrolled in any of the health-care related studies:
• medical students
• dental medicine students
• pharmacy students
• nursing students
• physiotherapy students
• dietetics/nutrition students
• biomolecular science students
• biomedical laboratory techniques students
• psychology students
• economy students
• students of maritime sciences

You may not qualify if:

• none

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Split, School of Medicine: lead
• University of Pavia: collaborator
• University of Foggia: collaborator
• Beirut Arab University: collaborator
• University of Wroclaw: collaborator
• University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca: collaborator
• Universidad Pablo de Olavide: collaborator

Study Sites (8)

Ivana Kolcic

Split, 21000, Croatia

RECRUITING

Department of Economics, University of Foggia

Foggia, 71100, Italy

COMPLETED

University of Pavia

Pavia, 27100, Italy

RECRUITING

Beirut Arab University

Beirut, 11 5020, Lebanon

COMPLETED

Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw; University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Katowice)

Wroclaw, 50-527, Poland

COMPLETED

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine

Cluj-Napoca, 400372, Romania

RECRUITING

Universidad Pablo De Olavide

Seville, 41013, Spain

RECRUITING

Koc University

Istanbul, 34450, Turkey (Türkiye)

COMPLETED

Related Publications (5)

• Monteagudo C, Mariscal-Arcas M, Rivas A, Lorenzo-Tovar ML, Tur JA, Olea-Serrano F. Proposal of a Mediterranean Diet Serving Score. PLoS One. 2015 Jun 2;10(6):e0128594. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0128594. eCollection 2015.

  PMID: 26035442 BACKGROUND

• Craig CL, Marshall AL, Sjostrom M, Bauman AE, Booth ML, Ainsworth BE, Pratt M, Ekelund U, Yngve A, Sallis JF, Oja P. International physical activity questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2003 Aug;35(8):1381-95. doi: 10.1249/01.MSS.0000078924.61453.FB.

  PMID: 12900694 BACKGROUND

• Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R. A global measure of perceived stress. J Health Soc Behav. 1983 Dec;24(4):385-96. No abstract available.

  PMID: 6668417 BACKGROUND

• Gleaves DH, Graham EC, Ambwani S. Measuring 'Orthorexia': Development of the Eating Habits Questionnaire. International Journal of Educational and Psychological Assessment. 12(2):1-18, 2013.

  BACKGROUND

• Donini LM, Marsili D, Graziani MP, Imbriale M, Cannella C. Orthorexia nervosa: validation of a diagnosis questionnaire. Eat Weight Disord. 2005 Jun;10(2):e28-32. doi: 10.1007/BF03327537.

  PMID: 16682853 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Habits; Health Behavior; Feeding Behavior; Motor Activity; Orthorexia Nervosa

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior; Behavior, Animal; Feeding and Eating Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Ivana Kolcic, Assoc. Prof.

  University of Split, School of Medicine

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Ivana Kolcic, Assoc. Prof.

CONTACT

+385915762263; ikolcic@mefst.hr

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: CROSS SECTIONAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 30, 2020
• First Posted: February 5, 2020
• Study Start: April 20, 2018
• Primary Completion: April 20, 2021
• Study Completion: April 20, 2021
• Last Updated: February 5, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-01

Locations

ES (1); LE (1); TU (1); IT (2); CR (1); RO (1); PL (1)