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Relationship Between Perceived Stress and Diet Quality in Physician Assistant Students
1Physician Assistant Studies Program, New York Institute of Technology, Riland Center, Room 351, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USA. Tel 516-686-1248. cwolf01@nyit.edu.
Purpose:
This study aims to explore the relationship between physician assistant (PA) students' perceived stress and diet quality.
Methods:
PA students answered an anonymous survey that included demographics, the Rapid Eating Assessment for Participants (REAP-S), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). Data analysis included descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, two-tailed independent samples t-test, and ANOVA (p < 0.05).
Results:
342 participants completed the survey. Mean score of REAP-S was 28.6 (SD 4.7), and mean score of the PSS-10 was 18.7 (6.5), indicating that students are experiencing moderate stress. Additionally, female students (mean 19.3, 6.4) were significantly more stressed than male students (mean 16.2, 6.5) (p < 0.001). A significant relationship was seen between REAP-S and PSS-10. Specifically, a statistically significant negative correlation was found, indicating that the more stressed a student is, the worse their diet quality (p < 0.001).
Conclusion:
PA students are experiencing a moderate degree of stress, which is negatively impacting their diet and lifestyle behaviors.
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