Food Intake and Mental Health Among Middle School Students in Shandong Province: A Network Analysis

A network analysis model was used to investigate the network structure linking food intake and mental health among middle school students in Shandong Province from a specific symptom perspective.

A total of 6179 middle school students aged 11-18 years in Shandong Province were included in the study. The modified Chinese Diet Quality Questionnaire (DQQ) and Symptom Check List 90 (SCL-90) were used to estimate the status of food intake and mental health, respectively. Network analysis was performed to explore the potential associations between food intake and mental health.

The symptom with the highest strength was "Frequency of eating eggs in the last week (FI-9)". "Obsessive compulsive (SCL-2)" was the symptom with the highest bridge strength. "Obsessive compulsive (SCL-2)" and "Frequency of eating eggs in the last week (FI-9)" were the most strongly related (weight=0.09).

From a network analysis perspective, this study identified complex pathways of correlations between specific food intake such as eggs, fruits and the appearance of abnormal psychological symptoms such as anxiety, depressive, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in middle school students. In the future, medical professionals may adopt appropriate interventions based on the centrality index and bridging centrality indicators identified in this study to effectively reduce the comorbidity of eating issues and poor mental health status in middle school students.