Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
Weill Cornell Medicine, 445 E 69th St. Suite 432, New York, NY, 10021, USA.
BMC Psychiatry. 2018 May 24;18(1):147. doi: 10.1186/s12888-018-1718-7.
Psychiatric problems among college students on USA campuses are common. Little is known about similar problems in developing countries, particularly the Arab region. The goal of this study was to assess the frequency of selected psychiatric problems among college students in two Arab countries: Qatar and Lebanon, and to compare them to the USA.
The Healthy Minds Study, an online confidential survey of common psychiatric symptoms designed for college campuses was used. We used the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to screen for major depression, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) to screen for generalized anxiety and the SCOFF questionnaire to screen for eating disorders. Comparisons were made using ANOVA, Chi-Square tests and logistic regressions.
A total of 1841 students participated in the study. The rates of depression (PHQ-9 ≥ 12), generalized anxiety (GAD-7 ≥ 10) and eating disorders (SCOFF≥3) at the combined Arab universities were 34.6, 36.1 and 20.4% respectively. The corresponding rates in the USA were: 12.8, 15.9 and 6.8% (p < 0.001 for all measures). The impact of psychiatric problems on functioning in general and academic performance in particular was more severe in the Arab countries compared to the USA (p < 0.001). Independent predictors of psychiatric problems in general included location, female gender, financial difficulties and poor grades. Being religious had a protective association with mental health.
The rates of depression, anxiety and eating disorders were significantly higher among college students in Qatar and Lebanon compared to the USA. Additional research is needed to determine whether these results reflect methodological limitations or true differences in psychopathology across these populations. If replicated, the results indicate that the psychiatric problems on college campuses in the USA are a microcosm of a global problem that needs global solutions.
美国大学校园里的大学生精神健康问题很常见。在发展中国家，特别是在阿拉伯地区，人们对类似的问题知之甚少。本研究的目的是评估在两个阿拉伯国家（卡塔尔和黎巴嫩）的大学生中，选定的精神健康问题的发生频率，并将其与美国进行比较。
使用了一项针对大学校园常见精神症状的在线保密调查“健康心灵研究”（Healthy Minds Study）。我们使用患者健康问卷-9（PHQ-9）来筛查重度抑郁症，使用广泛性焦虑症-7（GAD-7）来筛查广泛性焦虑症，使用 SCOFF 问卷来筛查进食障碍。采用方差分析、卡方检验和逻辑回归进行比较。
共有 1841 名学生参与了研究。联合阿拉伯大学的抑郁（PHQ-9≥12）、广泛性焦虑（GAD-7≥10）和进食障碍（SCOFF≥3）的发生率分别为 34.6%、36.1%和 20.4%。而美国的相应比率为：12.8%、15.9%和 6.8%（所有指标均 p<0.001）。与美国相比，阿拉伯国家的精神健康问题对整体功能的影响，特别是对学业成绩的影响更为严重（p<0.001）。一般精神健康问题的独立预测因素包括地点、女性、经济困难和成绩不佳。宗教信仰与心理健康呈保护相关。
与美国相比，卡塔尔和黎巴嫩的大学生中抑郁、焦虑和进食障碍的发生率明显更高。需要进一步研究这些结果是否反映了这些人群中精神病理学的方法学限制或真实差异。如果这些结果得到复制，那么这些结果表明，美国大学校园的精神健康问题是一个需要全球解决方案的全球问题的缩影。
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