Skipping breakfast has been suggested to increase the risk of depressive symptoms, but there is no information regarding young adults. We aimed to investigate the relationship between the frequency of breakfast consumption and the risk of depressive symptoms among Chinese college students. We investigated a cross-sectional (n = 1060) and one-year prospective (n = 757) relationship between the frequency of breakfast consumption and the risk of depressive symptoms. The frequency of breakfast consumption was categorized into “≤1 time/week”, “2–5 times/week”, or “≥6 times/week”. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the 20-item Zung self-rating depression scale (SDS) with an SDS score of ≥50 to indicate moderate to severe depressive symptoms. In the cross-sectional analysis, the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of depressive symptoms related with the breakfast consumption categories were 1.00 (reference) for ≥6 times/week, 1.761 (95% CI: 1.131, 2.742) for 2–5 times/week, and 3.780 (95% CI: 1.719, 8.311) for ≤1 time/week (p for trend: <0.001) after adjusting for these potential confounders. Similarly, in the one-year prospective analysis, we found that 10.2% of participants was classified as having moderate to severe depressive symptoms. Multivariate logistic regressions analysis revealed a significant negative relationship between the frequency of breakfast consumption and the risk of depressive symptoms. The ORs (95% CI) for depressive symptoms with decreasing breakfast consumption frequency were 1.00 (reference) for ≥6 times/week, 2.045 (1.198, 3.491) for 2–5 times/week, and 2.722 (0.941, 7.872) for ≤1 time/week (p for trend: 0.005). This one-year prospective cohort study showed that skipping breakfast is related to increased risk of depressive symptoms among Chinese college students. Future research using interventional or experimental studies is required to explore the causal relationship between the effects of breakfast consumption and depressive symptoms.
Background: Due to the low physical fitness of the frail elderly, current exercise program strategies have a limited impact. Eight-form Tai Chi has a low intensity, but high effectiveness in the elderly. Inspired by it, we designed an exercise program that incorporates eight-form Tai Chi, strength, and endurance exercises, to improve physical fitness and reverse frailty in the elderly. Additionally, for the ease of use in clinical practice, machine learning simulations were used to predict the frailty status after the intervention. Methods: For 24 weeks, 150 frail elderly people completed the experiment, which comprised the eight-form Tai Chi group (TC), the strength and endurance training group (SE), and a comprehensive intervention combining both TC and SE (TCSE). The comparison of the demographic variables used one-way ANOVA for continuous data and the chi-squared test for categorical data. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to determine significant main effects and interaction effects. Eleven machine learning models were used to predict the frailty status of the elderly following the intervention. Results: Two-way repeated measures ANOVA results before the intervention, group effects of ten-meter maximum walking speed (10 m MWS), grip strength (GS), timed up and go test (TUGT), and the six-minute walk test (6 min WT) were not significant. There was a significant interaction effect of group × time in ten-meter maximum walking speed, grip strength, and the six-minute walk test. Post hoc tests showed that after 24 weeks of intervention, subjects in the TCSE group showed the greatest significant improvements in ten-meter maximum walking speed (p < 0.05) and the six-minute walk test (p < 0.05) compared to the TC group and SE group. The improvement in grip strength in the TCSE group (4.29 kg) was slightly less than that in the SE group (5.16 kg). There was neither a significant main effect nor a significant interaction effect for TUGT in subjects. The stacking model outperformed other algorithms. Accuracy and the F1-score were 67.8% and 71.3%, respectively. Conclusion: A hybrid exercise program consisting of eight-form Tai Chi and strength and endurance exercises can more effectively improve physical fitness and reduce frailty among the elderly. It is possible to predict whether an elderly person will reverse frailty following an exercise program based on the stacking model.
Severe internet addiction (IA) is associated with a higher risk of musculoskeletal pain, but whether there is a significant prospective association between IA and fatigue is unclear. This study aimed to examine the association between IA and fatigue level among Chinese college students. A cross-sectional (n = 1011) and prospective study (n = 653) was conducted to examine the association between IA and risk of fatigue. IA was measured using Young internet addiction test. Fatigue level was evaluated using the Chalder fatigue scale. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed a cross-sectional association between IA and the risk of fatigue. The odds ratios (95% CIs) of fatigue for normal, mild, and moderate to severe groups were 1.00 (reference), 1.88 (1.20, 2.95), and 5.60 (3.33, 9.42), respectively (P for trend: <0.001). Similarly, multivariate logistic regression analyses also revealed a significant prospective relationship between IA and the risk of fatigue during the 1-year follow-up period. The odds ratios (95% CIs) of fatigue for normal, mild, and moderate to severe groups were 1.00 (reference), 1.56 (0.67, 3.67), and 3.29 (1.08, 10.04), respectively (P for trend: 0.046). Our findings indicate that IA is positively related to risk of fatigue among Chinese college students. Further interventional studies are needed to explore the causality underlying the effects of IA on fatigue.