ArticlePublic health nutrition2021
College student sleep quality and mental and physical health are associated with food insecurity in a multi-campus study.
Article in Public health nutrition, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 54 citations in OpenAlex.
- Food insecurity among university students in Australia: A systematic review of prevalence, predictors, health and academic outcomes.Nutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia · 2026Pooled it
- Sleep quality and associated factors among university students in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Understanding Food and Nutrition Insecurity Among College Students: Evidence from a Cross-Campus Study.Nutrients · 2026Article
- The Academic Hunger Gap: From Plates to Well-Being-How Food Insecurity Undermines Quality of Life in University Students.Food science & nutrition · 2026Article
- Food insecurity and cultural food access among international college students in the USA.Public health nutrition · 2026Article
- From Brain Networks to Sleep Perception: EEG-Derived Global Efficiency is Associated with Subjective Sleep Quality in University Students.Nature and science of sleep · 2026Article
- Ultra-processed food consumption, hedonic hunger, and sleep quality among university students: a food and nutrition literacy perspective.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- The effect of food insecurity on psychosocial aspects of academic achievement.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Sleep duration and food insecurity among minority urban college students: predictors of health and academic disparity.Frontiers in sleep · 2026Article
- Association between food insecurity and depressive symptoms in college students before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.Journal of American college health : J of ACH · 2025Article
- Socio-demographic risk factors for food insecurity among students at five North Carolina colleges: The influence on fruit and vegetable intake and perceived health and well-being.Preventive medicine reports · 2025Article
- Psychosocial and Academic Implications of Food Insecurity Among International Students: A Qualitative Study in Hungary.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Psychometric Validation of a Standardized Instrument for Assessing Food and Nutrition Security Among College Students.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Food insecurity and lifestyle behaviours in university students amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: a comparative survey across three countries.BMC public health · 2024Article
- The Association between Food Insecurity and Insomnia Symptoms among Young Adults in Puerto Rico and the Mediating Role of Psychological Distress Symptoms.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Beyond the Classroom: The Influence of Food Insecurity, Mental Health, and Sleep Quality on University Students' Academic Performance.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Article
- Predicting food insecurity among UK university students during the COVID-19 pandemic.Public health nutrition · 2024Article
- Persistent and Changing Food Insecurity Among Students at a Midwestern University is Associated With Behavioral and Mental Health Outcomes.American journal of health promotion : AJHP · 2024Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
26 authors at 20 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo assess the relationship between food insecurity, sleep quality, and days with mental and physical health issues among college students.
designAn online survey was administered. Food insecurity was assessed using the ten-item Adult Food Security Survey Module. Sleep was measured using the nineteen-item Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Mental health and physical health were measured using three items from the Healthy Days Core Module. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to assess the relationship between food insecurity, sleep quality, and days with poor mental and physical health.
settingTwenty-two higher education institutions.
participantsCollege students (n 17 686) enrolled at one of twenty-two participating universities.
resultsCompared with food-secure students, those classified as food insecure (43·4 %) had higher PSQI scores indicating poorer sleep quality (P < 0·0001) and reported more days with poor mental (P < 0·0001) and physical (P < 0·0001) health as well as days when mental and physical health prevented them from completing daily activities (P < 0·0001). Food-insecure students had higher adjusted odds of having poor sleep quality (adjusted OR (AOR): 1·13; 95 % CI 1·12, 1·14), days with poor physical health (AOR: 1·01; 95 % CI 1·01, 1·02), days with poor mental health (AOR: 1·03; 95 % CI 1·02, 1·03) and days when poor mental or physical health prevented them from completing daily activities (AOR: 1·03; 95 % CI 1·02, 1·04).
conclusionsCollege students report high food insecurity which is associated with poor mental and physical health, and sleep quality. Multi-level policy changes and campus wellness programmes are needed to prevent food insecurity and improve student health-related outcomes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.