The Self-perceived Mental Health Status and Factors That Influence the Mental Health of Chinese Submariners in the South China Sea: A Cross-sectional Study

Beneficial effects of short-term exposure to indoor biophilic environments on psychophysiological health: Evidence from electrophysiological activity and salivary metabolomics

BACKGROUND

The utilization of short-term natural exposure as a health intervention has great potential in the field of public health. However, previous studies have mostly focused on outdoor urban green spaces, with limited research on indoor biophilic environments, and the physiological regulatory mechanisms involved remain unclear.

OBJECTIVES

To explore the affective and physiological impact of short-term exposure to indoor biophilic environments and their potential regulatory mechanisms.

METHODS

A between-group design experiment was conducted, and the psychophysiological responses of participants to the indoor plants (Vicks Plant) were measured by a method combined the subjective survey, electrophysiological measurements, and salivary biochemical analysis. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from plants were also detected to analyze the main substances that caused olfactory stimuli.

RESULTS

Compared with the non-biophilic environment, short-term exposure to the indoor biophilic environment was associated with psychological and physiological relaxation, including reduced negative emotions, improved positive emotions, lower heart rate, skin conductance level, salivary cortisol and pro-inflammatory cytokines, and increased alpha brainwave power. Salivary metabolomics analysis revealed that the differential metabolites observed between the groups exhibited enrichment in two metabolic pathways related to neural function and immune response: phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, and ubiquinone and other terpenoid-quinone biosynthesis. These changes may be associated with the combined visual and olfactory stimuli of the biophilic environment, in which D-limonene was the dominant substance in plant-derived VOCs.

CONCLUSION

This research demonstrated the benefits of short-term exposure to indoor biophilic environments on psychophysiological health through evidence from both the nervous and endocrine systems.

Stress exposure status and associated factors among Chinese People's Armed Police personnel: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

MG (Mass gathering) deployment is one of the primary duties of Chinese People's Armed Police (PAP) personnel. Due to prolonged and repeated deployments in difficult conditions and harsh climates, military personnel are exposed to multiple stressors.

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to understand the stress exposure status of armed police personnel during MG deployment and to explore its influencing factors.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted among PAP in 2021. We used a cluster random sampling to select 960 PAP personnel. Binary logistic regression was used to examine whether the stress exposure status was associated with factors such as demographics, health service utilization, and MG deployment.

RESULTS

Among 960 PAP personnel,83% of PAP personnel participated in MG in the past month, and 23.1% of PAP personnel suffered stress. The chi-square test showed that there were significant differences in MG'cycle time (p < 0.05). The binary logistic regression results showed that satisfaction with medical skills (p = 0.008), satisfaction with health environment (p = 0.031), satisfaction with medicine (OR = 0.640, 95%CI:0.436,0.938), and seeking health services (OR = 5.36, 95%CI:2.316,12.402) were associated with stress exposure status. However, age, and length of military service did not have any association with the stress exposure status of PAP personnel in this study.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated that stress exposure status among PAP personnel was associated with MG deployment, and health service utilization. These findings can help policy-makers and clinicians to relieve the stress of the armed police personnel, as well as provide a basis for developing military health service security plans.