Anxiety, depression, and stress prevalence among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Wang, Chunyi; Wen, Wen; Zhang, Haifu; Ni, Jie; Jiang, Jingjie; Cheng, Yongran; Zhou, Mengyun; Ye, Lan; Feng, Zhanhui; Ge, Zhongjun; Hong, Luo; Wang, Mingwei; Zhang, Xingwei; Liu, Wenmin

doi:10.1080/07448481.2021.1960849

Cited by 170 publications

(148 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

132

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…However, international data provide a significantly lower prevalence rates of anxiety among students. For example, a meta-analysis indicates the rate of anxiety among college students is 29% during the pandemic [ 81 ]; the rates of anxiety are also lower in individual studies [ 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 ]. We believe that such discrepancies between results from our study and current data may be explained by different instruments used to screen for students’ symptoms of anxiety.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Health among Higher Education Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey from Lithuania

Žilinskas

Žulpaitė

Puteikis

et al. 2021

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mental health issues—anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation and behavior—are prevalent among students of higher education. The COVID-19 pandemic further affected students’ daily life through academic and socioeconomic disturbances. We set out to investigate students’ mental health amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and conducted a cross-sectional online survey at higher education institutions in Lithuania in 2021. The questionnaire consisted of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS) and the Sense of Coherence scale (SOC-3) questionnaires, evaluation of suicidal risk, experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and self-rated health status (SRHS). Among 1001 students who completed the survey, the prevalence of clinically relevant anxiety was high (46.6%) and contrasted with the lower prevalence of depression (11.1%). 37.5% of all students admitted that they had thought about suicide at least once during their lifetime and a similar number of students thought about suicide during the previous year. High levels of anxiety and depression were statistically significant predictors of suicidal ideation and planning during the past year in binary regression models. High SRHS (higher score refers to more positive health status) was the only significant independent variable associated with less frequent suicidal attempts in the past year (p < 0.01, OR = 0.29, 95% CI = 0.12 to 0.66). Our study highlights anxiety and suicidality to be burdensome mental health issues among higher education students in Lithuania during the COVID-19 pandemic.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Health among Higher Education Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey from Lithuania

Žilinskas

Žulpaitė

Puteikis

et al. 2021

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Previous reviews found that the prevalence rate of depression during the pandemic ranged between 12.2% [62] and 31.2% [6]. However, more recent reviews conducted in 2021 suggest that these rates could be up to 32% [63] and 37% [64].…”

Section: Summary Of Main Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meta-Analysis of Prevalence of Depression in Dental Students during COVID-19 Pandemic

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background and Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has a negative impact on the mental health of the population in general, and in college students in particular. Dental students have seen their teaching altered and their clinical practice reduced. This study was aimed at conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies reporting levels of depression among dental students during the COVID-19 and estimating the pooled prevalence of depression. Materials and Methods: Medline via PubMed and other databases were searched for studies on the prevalence of depression in dental undergraduates, published from 1 December 2019 to 1 September 2021. The pooled proportions of depression were calculated with random effects models. Results: We identified 13 studies from 9 countries. The pooled prevalence of depression in dental students was 37% (95% CI: 26–49%) with no variation due to gender, response rate or methodological quality. We only found a significantly higher prevalence of depression in studies from Asia compared to Europe and America. Conclusions: Our results suggest that dental students are suffering from higher levels of depression compared with the general population or other college students during the COVID-19 pandemic, with differences across regions. Measures to improve mental health and wellbeing of dental students during the pandemic are needed.

show abstract

“…Fear of contracting the virus combined with the implementation of public health measures including stay-at-home orders, lockdowns, and closures of universities caused a decrease in physical activity [4] and a modification in eating habits among students which could change their body mass index [5]. Multiple lockdowns, self-isolation, food insecurity, and elearning implementation due to the COVID-19 pandemic have been associated with anxiety and depression symptoms among students [6], leading to increased risk of developing or worsening ED [7]. However, these studies were limited because of a lack of comparison data collected before the pandemic, which made it difficult to attribute college students' ED to the pandemic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sharp Increase in Eating Disorders among University Students since the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused stress as well as modified physical activity and eating habits among university students. The objectives were to identify the changes in body mass index (BMI) and eating disorders among university students between 2009 and 2021. Between 2009 and 2021, five repeated cross-sectional studies were conducted among university students who filled in an anonymous online self-questionnaire. Age, gender, and BMI were recorded, and the SCOFF questionnaire was used for ED screening which, in combination with BMI, allows to identify the four broad categories of ED with the Expali algorithm. With the five studies, 8981 university students were included in total. Obesity steadily increased between 2009 and 2021, for both men and women. The prevalence of ED was stable between 2009 and 2018 and significantly increased from 31.8% in 2018 to 51.8% in 2021 for women (p trend < 0.0001), and from 13.0% in 2009 to 31.3% in 2021 for men (p trend < 0.0001). All types of ED increased significantly between 2009 and 2021, except for restrictive ED among men. These results indicate for the first time a significant increase in ED prevalence among students since the COVID-19 pandemic. Initiatives to reinforce early screening of ED to implement targeted interventions in the student population are urgently needed.

show abstract

Anxiety, depression, and stress prevalence among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Cited by 170 publications

References 44 publications

Mental Health among Higher Education Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey from Lithuania

Mental Health among Higher Education Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey from Lithuania

Meta-Analysis of Prevalence of Depression in Dental Students during COVID-19 Pandemic

Sharp Increase in Eating Disorders among University Students since the COVID-19 Pandemic

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About