Stress, Anxiety, and Depression Among Spanish University Professors: Associations With Lifestyle Habits and Physical and Mental Health Indicators

Abstract

Background: Professors play a crucial role in the ed-ucational process, making their well-being a key area of in-terest in research on universities as health-promoting set-tings. The scientific literature emphasizes that various con-textual, personal, and behavioral factors have a direct im-pact on faculty health. To estimate the prevalence of stress,anxiety, and depression among Spanish university profes-sors, and to examine their associations with lifestyle habitsand indicators of physical and mental health.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with1560 participants (mean age 47.39±11.29 years) from thir-teen universities that are part of the Spanish Network ofHealth-Promoting Universities. The variables assessed in-cluded stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, health-relatedquality of life, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, di-etary patterns, sleep quality, and vocal fatigue.Results: Regression analyses revealed that, across allthree outcomes, lower mental well-being, greater emotionalexhaustion, and more frequent sleep disturbances were sig-nificant predictors of psychological distress. For stress andanxiety, being female and younger also emerged as signif-icant demographic predictors. Stress was additionally as-sociated with increased emotional eating and reduced vocalrecovery, whereas anxiety was linked to greater physicalvocal discomfort. Depression was predicted exclusively by lower mental well-being, higher emotional exhaustion, andmore sleep problems.Conclusions: The psychological health of universityfaculty is influenced by a complex interplay of well-being,occupational, and lifestyle factors. Interventions aimedat enhancing emotional regulation, promoting sleep hy-giene, ensuring balanced workloads, and providing psy-chosocial support, along with institutional measures thataddress early-career vulnerabilities and gender disparities,may help mitigate stress, anxiety, and depression amonguniversity professors