Relationship between lifestyle and anxiety in health sciences students in Nuevo León, Mexico
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20453/renh.v19i1.7686Keywords:
lifestyle, anxiety, university students, health sciencesAbstract
Objective: To determine the relationship between lifestyle and anxiety level in health sciences students at a private university in Nuevo León, Mexico. Materials and methods: A quantitative, correlational, cross-sectional study. Seventy-six first-year students from five schools of the Faculty of Health Sciences participated. The FANTASTIC questionnaire was used to assess lifestyle, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory was applied to measure anxiety. Results: 59.2% had very low anxiety; 21.1%, moderate anxiety; and 19.7%, severe anxiety. Regarding lifestyle, 50.0% had a good lifestyle; 35.5%, fair; 7.9%, excellent; and 6.6%, poor. A significant association was observed between the two variables (χ² = 29.760; df = 6; p < .001; Cramér's V = .442), with a medium effect size. Conclusion: A better lifestyle is associated with lower anxiety levels in health sciences university students. From a nursing perspective, these findings underscore the importance of self-care, health education, and early detection of anxiety symptoms.
Downloads
References
Cristales DA. Características individuales y estilo de vida en estudiantes de Enfermería, en la pandemia de COVID-19 [tesis de maestría en Internet]. Puebla, México: Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla; 2021. Disponible en: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12371/15790
Clemente ZA. Estrés académico y ansiedad en estudiantes de licenciatura en Enfermería [tesis de maestría en Internet]. Puebla, México: Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla; 2021. Disponible en: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12371/11807
Castillo-Díaz MA, Martínez MC, Henao CA, et al. Psychological distress, health-promoting lifestyle and sociodemographic factors in Honduran university students: a structural equation model. Health Promot Int. 2024;39(4):daae082. doi:10.1093/heapro/daae082
Guerrero AE. La relación entre ansiedad, depresión, sedentarismo y sobreingesta en adultos de 18 a 64 años [tesis de licenciatura en Internet]. Ciudad de México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; 2021. Disponible en: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14330/TES01000817110
Saravia-Bartra MM, Cazorla-Saravia P, Cedillo-Ramirez L. Nivel de ansiedad de estudiantes de medicina de primer año de una universidad privada del Perú en tiempos de Covid-19. Rev Fac Med Hum. 2020;20(4):568-73. doi:10.25176/rfmh.v20i4.3198
Hernández R, González JL, Fernández AM. Estrés y ansiedad al comienzo de las prácticas clínicas en estudiantes de Enfermería. Metas Enferm. 2020;23(6):50-8. doi:10.35667/METASENF.2019.23.1003081613
Jaen-Cortés CI, Rivera-Aragón S, Velasco-Matus PW, et al. Ansiedad y depresión en estudiantes universitarios: factores asociados con estilos de vida no saludables. Rev Latinoam Med Conductual [Internet]. 2020;10(2):36-47. Disponible en: https://www.revistas.unam.mx/index.php/rlmc/article/view/79745
Vidales-Jara M, Calderón-Botello LE, Arroyo-Rueda AP, et al. Nivel de ansiedad en población de 18 a 30 años. Enferm Innov Cienc. 2026;8(1). doi:10.60568/eic.v8i1.3885
Supe RV, Gavilanes FR. Ansiedad y calidad de vida en estudiantes universitarios. LATAM Rev Latinoam Cienc Soc Humanidades. 2023;4(2):2526-30. doi:10.56712/latam.v4i2.774
Hoying J, Melnyk BM, Hutson E, et al. Prevalence and correlates of depression, anxiety, stress, healthy beliefs, and lifestyle behaviors in first-year graduate health sciences students. Worldviews Evid Based Nurs. 2020;17(1):49-59. doi:10.1111/wvn.12415
Santos de Santana EE, Neves LM, Souza KC, et al. Physically inactive undergraduate students exhibit more symptoms of anxiety, depression, and poor quality of life than physically active students. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023;20(5):4494. doi:10.3390/ijerph20054494
Rivera LM, Cartagena K. Relación de las situaciones y síntomas de estrés académico con los hábitos alimentarios en estudiantes de una universidad privada en Huancayo–2024. Rev Esp Nutr Comunitaria. 2025;31(4):48-56. doi:10.63474/renc.v31i4.6
Ruiz-Hernández JA, Guillén Á, Pina D, et al. Mental health and healthy habits in university students: a comparative associative study. Eur J Investig Health Psychol Educ. 2022;12(2):114-26. doi:10.3390/ejihpe12020010
Rodríguez R, López JM, Munguía C, et al. Validez y consistencia del instrumento FANTASTIC para medir estilo de vida en diabéticos. Rev Méd Inst Mex Seguro Soc [Internet]. 2003;41(3):211-19. Disponible en: https://www.medigraphic.com/cgi-bin/new/resumen.cgi?IDARTICULO=2488
Vizioli NA, Pagan AE. Inventario de Ansiedad de Beck: validez estructural y fiabilidad a través de distintos métodos de estimación en población argentina. Acta Colomb Psicol. 2022;25(1):28-41. doi:
Ahsan M, Abualait T. Investigation of the relationship between mental health and physical activity among university students. Front Psychol. 2025;15:1546002. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1546002
Morán GA. Niveles de ansiedad en estudiantes universitarios de Latinoamérica: una revisión sistemática. Clío. 2026;6(11):604-19 doi:10.5281/zenodo.16905936
Chavez LL. Estilos de vida y ansiedad en estudiantes de Medicina durante la pandemia, año 2021 [tesis de título profesional en Internet]. Lima: Universidad Ricardo Palma; 2023. Disponible en: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14138/6449
Castillo-Díaz MA, Henao CA. Health-promoting lifestyle as a predictor of well-being in Honduran university students: a structural equation modeling approach with mental health and sleep quality as mediators. Front Psychol. 2026;16:1735602. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1735602
Jiménez IG. Relación entre la calidad del sueño y la atención en estudiantes universitarios. Bol Cient Esc Super Atotonilco Tula. 2025;12(23):1-6. doi:10.29057/esat.v11i23.13257
Pérez EA, Chalé JD, Salgado H. Prevalencia de depresión y ansiedad en estudiantes de Medicina: un estudio longitudinal. Rev Electrón Tecnol Educ Soc [Internet]. 2023;10(20). Disponible en: https://www.ctes.org.mx/index.php/ctes/article/view/813
Caamaño-Navarrete F, Saavedra-Vallejos E, Guzmán-Guzmán IP, et al. Unhealthy lifestyle contributes to negative mental health and poor quality of life in young university students. Healthcare. 2024;12(22):2213. doi:10.3390/healthcare12222213
Martín-Rodríguez A, González-Prieto N. Influence of physical activity on perceived stress and mental health in university students: a systematic review. Front Sports Act Living. 2026;7:1710832. doi:10.3389/fspor.2025.1710832
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Danitza Raquel Casildo Bedón, Milka Mariely Maldonado Duarte, Joselin Paola Briano
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All articles published in the Revista Enfermeria Herediana are under a Creative Commons Reconocimiento 4.0 International license.
The authors retain the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work registered with the Creative Commons License, which allows third parties to use what is published whenever they mention the authorship of the work, and to the first publication in this magazine.
Authors can make other independent and additional contractual agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the version published in this journal, provided they clearly indicate that the work was published in this journal.
The authors can file in the repository of their institution:
The research work or thesis of degree from which the published article derives.
The pre-print version: the version prior to peer review.
The Post-print version: final version after peer review.
The definitive version or final version created by the publisher for publication.
2.png)
