PERCEIVED STRESS IS INVERSELY CORRELATED WITH BODY FAT IN LITHUANIAN FEMALE NURSES

Abstract

According to the position of the American Institute of Stress, the human population is currently facing a mental health crisis. The study aimed to assess the correlation perceived psychological stress and body fat percentage (BF%) in clinical nurses working in Lithuanian healthcare institutions. In October-November 2024, a single cross-sectional study was performed using the confidential survey method. The final analysis of the study sample included 121 female nurses with the mean age of 40.8 ± 10.3 years. Both the Reeder Stress Inventory along with the Spanish-developed predictor for the body fat percentage, namely, Clínica Universidad de Navarra-body adiposity Estimator (CUN-BAE) were applied to evaluate the levels of perceived psychological stress and body composition in Lithuanian clinical nurses. This study identified as many as 74% of female nurses who were overweight or obese. The increased level of perceived stress was found among 45% of nurses, too. The BF% (41.4 ± 8.5%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 37.1; 45.8%) of nurses with low-level perceived stress was statistically significantly higher compared to developed BF% in nurses with moderate or high-level psychological stress (35.3 ± 5.8%, 95% CI: 33.7; 36.9% and 36.2± 6.6%, 95% CI: 34.4; 38.0%) (F = 5.7, p = 0.004). Although the study highlighted the issues related to overweight and obesity as well as the increased levels of perceived stress in a sample of female nurses working in Lithuanian healthcare institutions, that in turn should serve as a starting point for instigating two-way preventive initiatives in order to strengthen the mental health in nurses and reduce the incidence of obesity.