EVALUATION OF PERCEIVED MENTAL WORKLOAD, ASSOCIATED FACTORS AND GENERAL WELLBEING OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) involves chronic hyperglycemia with metabolic, inflammatory, vascular, and organ-level abnormalities. Objective: To assess ACE I/D genotype and allele distributions and gut microbial diversity in adults with T2DM and non-diabetic controls and examine their associations with metabolic, inflammatory, physiological, and renal histopathological findings. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was included 200 adults (150 with T2DM and 50 controls). Demographic and clinical characteristics were assessed in a tertiary care hospital of Pakistan during the period from January 2026 to June 2026. ACE I/D polymorphism was determined by polymerase chain reaction, while stool specimens underwent 16S rRNA-based microbial profiling. Renal tissue specimens were assessed histopathologically. Group comparisons, correlations, and multivariable regression analyses were performed. Results: Compared with controls, participants with T2DM had higher BMI, glucose, HbA1c, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL-C, CRP, IL-6, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and lower HDL-C. Overall ACE genotype distribution did not differ significantly (χ²=5.72, df=2, p=0.057), whereas the D-allele frequency was higher in T2DM (60.7% vs. 46.0%; p=0.010; OR=1.81, 95% CI 1.15–2.86). HbA1c, triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, and CRP differed across ACE genotypes. Faecalibacterium, Roseburia, and Akkermansia were reduced, whereas Enterobacteriaceae and Escherichia/Shigella were increased in T2DM. Microbial diversity and selected taxa correlated significantly with HbA1c and CRP. Renal inflammatory, vascular, degenerative, edematous, and fibrotic findings were more frequent in T2DM. Conclusion: ACE I/D variation, gut microbial alterations, metabolic and inflammatory characteristics, physiological parameters, and renal histopathological findings showed significant associations in T2DM, supporting integrated risk characterization and further investigation.Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) involves chronic hyperglycemia with metabolic, inflammatory, vascular, and organ-level abnormalities. Objective: To assess ACE I/D genotype and allele distributions and gut microbial diversity in adults with T2DM and non-diabetic controls and examine their associations with metabolic, inflammatory, physiological, and renal histopathological findings. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was included 200 adults (150 with T2DM and 50 controls). Demographic and clinical characteristics were assessed in a tertiary care hospital of Pakistan during the period from January 2026 to June 2026. ACE I/D polymorphism was determined by polymerase chain reaction, while stool specimens underwent 16S rRNA-based microbial profiling. Renal tissue specimens were assessed histopathologically. Group comparisons, correlations, and multivariable regression analyses were performed. Results: Compared with controls, participants with T2DM had higher BMI, glucose, HbA1c, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL-C, CRP, IL-6, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and lower HDL-C. Overall ACE genotype distribution did not differ significantly (χ²=5.72, df=2, p=0.057), whereas the D-allele frequency was higher in T2DM (60.7% vs. 46.0%; p=0.010; OR=1.81, 95% CI 1.15–2.86). HbA1c, triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, and CRP differed across ACE genotypes. Faecalibacterium, Roseburia, and Akkermansia were reduced, whereas Enterobacteriaceae and Escherichia/Shigella were increased in T2DM. Microbial diversity and selected taxa correlated significantly with HbA1c and CRP. Renal inflammatory, vascular, degenerative, edematous, and fibrotic findings were more frequent in T2DM. Conclusion: ACE I/D variation, gut microbial alterations, metabolic and inflammatory characteristics, physiological parameters, and renal histopathological findings showed significant associations in T2DM, supporting integrated risk characterization and further investigation.There is increase mental workload of university students in Nigeria due to persistent strike actions by the universities’ academic staff, rising insecurity and economic slump in the country, which play important role in the overall wellbeing of the university students. The focus of this study is to ascertain the impacts of mental workload and academic attainment on the wellbeing of the university students in Southeast region of Nigeria while controlling for the demographic factors. Survey questionnaires comprising of demographic items, NASA-TLX items for measuring mental workload and wellbeing items were administer to 676 students randomly selected from the Faculty of Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Data from 669 valid questionnaires were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), bivariate linear regression and correlation analyses. At p < 0.05, year of study and mental workload had inverse association with the students’ positive wellbeing and direct association with negative wellbeing. Third and fourth year students had decrease in wellbeing compared to first and second year students while increase in mental workload increased negative wellbeing.