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. 2025 Jun 30;17(13):2174.
doi: 10.3390/nu17132174.

Mediterranean Diet Compliance Is Related with Lower Prevalence of Perceived Stress and Poor Sleep Quality in University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in Greece

Antonios Dakanalis  1   2 , Konstantinos Papadimitriou  3 , Olga Alexatou  4 , Georgia-Eirini Deligiannidou  3   5 , Myrsini Pappa  4 , Sousana K Papadopoulou  3 , Aikaterini Louka  4 , Georgios Paschodimas  6 , Maria Mentzelou  4 , Constantinos Giaginis  4
Affiliations

Mediterranean Diet Compliance Is Related with Lower Prevalence of Perceived Stress and Poor Sleep Quality in University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in Greece

Antonios Dakanalis et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Background/objectives: Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence is associated with a lower risk of developing several chronic diseases, including cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, cancer, and mental health diseases. University students are vulnerable to mental disorders that considerably affect their well-being and quality of life, which may be ascribed to the stressful environment during their academic studies. This cross-sectional survey designed to explore the relationship between MD compliance and perceived stress levels as well as sleep quality in a representative sample of university students from Greece.

Methods: This survey assigned 5433 university students from 10 Greek regions. We used qualified questionnaires to examine the socio-demographics of the assigned students. Anthropometrics were determined by qualified methods. Validated questionnaires were used to determine diverse lifestyle factors like physical activity, perceived stress, sleep quality and MD adherence.

Results: Concerning the primary objectives of this study, greater MD compliance was independently and significantly related to lower incidence of perceived stress and poor sleep quality in university students. As far as the secondary objectives of this study concern, greater MD compliance was independently and significantly related to female gender, rural type of residence, living with family, smoking, biomedicine studies, being normal weight, and having enhanced physical activity.

Conclusions: This study reinforces the idea that healthy dietary patterns like MD could be a significant modifiable factor against perceived stress and poor sleep quality of university students. Based on this evidence, longitudinal studies should be performed to confirm whether MD can exert a causal effect on perceived stress and sleep quality.

Keywords: Greece; Mediterranean diet; academic performance; lifestyle factors; mental health; perceived stress; quality of life; sleep quality; sociodemographic factors; university students.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart diagram of the study population enrollment.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Significant and independent associations of MD adherence with sociodemographic and lifestyle factors including perceived stress and sleep quality.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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