Guo Liping, Fan Huiyong, Xu Zheng, Li Jieyun, Chen Taolin, Zhang Ziyao, Yang Kehu
Evidence-based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Evidence-based Social Sciences Research Center, School of Public Health, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Stress Health. 2021 Dec;37(5):835-847. doi: 10.1002/smi.3045. Epub 2021 Apr 19.
Education actively helps us develop our well-being and health, but postgraduate students are at high risk of depression. The prevalence of depression symptoms varies from 6.2% to 84.7% among them, and its changes throughout the years remains unclear. The present study aimed to estimate the real prevalence of depression symptoms among postgraduate students and the changes from 1980 to 2020. Thirty-seven primary studies with 41 independent reports were included in the meta-analysis (none reports were in high-quality, three were medium-to-high quality, 20 were low-to-medium quality, and 18 were low-quality), involving 27,717 postgraduate students. The pooled prevalence of overall, mild, moderate, and severe depression symptoms was 34% (95% CI: 28-40, I = 98.6%), 27% (95% CI: 22-32, I = 85.8%), 13% (95% CI: 8-21, I = 97.3%), and 8% (95% CI: 6-11, I = 81.0%), respectively. Overall, the prevalence of depression symptoms remained relatively constant through the years following 1980 (overall: β = -0.12, 95% CI: [-0.39, 0.15], p = 0.39; mild: β = 0.24, 95% CI: [-0.02, 0.51], p = 0.07; moderate: β = -0.24, 95% CI: [-0.75, 0.26], p = 0.34; severe: β = 0.13, 95% CI: [-0.25, 0.51], p = 0.50). Doctoral students experienced more depressive symptoms than did master's students (43% vs. 27%; Q = 2.23, df = 1, p = 0.13), and studies utilising non-random sampling methods reported a higher prevalence of mild depression and lower moderate depression symptoms than those that used random sampling (overall: 34% vs. 29%; Q = 0.45, df = 1, p = 0.50; mild: 29% vs. 21%; Q = 1.69, df = 1, p = 0.19; moderate: 16% vs. 25%; Q = 1.79, df = 1, p = 0.18; severe: 8% vs. 9%; Q = 0.13, df = 1, p = 0.72) despite these differences was not statistically significant. The prevalence of depression symptoms was moderated by the measurements and the quality of primary studies. More than one-third of postgraduates reported depression symptoms, which indicates the susceptibility to mental health risk among postgraduates. School administrators, teachers, and students should take joint actions to prevent mental disorders of postgraduates from increasing in severity.
教育积极地帮助我们提升幸福感和健康水平，但研究生患抑郁症的风险很高。他们中抑郁症状的患病率在6.2%至84.7%之间，多年来其变化情况仍不清楚。本研究旨在估计研究生中抑郁症状的实际患病率以及1980年至2020年期间的变化。荟萃分析纳入了37项主要研究的41份独立报告（无高质量报告，3份为中高质量，20份为低到中等质量，18份为低质量），涉及27,717名研究生。总体、轻度、中度和重度抑郁症状的合并患病率分别为34%（95%置信区间：28 - 40，I² = 98.6%）、27%（95%置信区间：22 - 32，I² = 85.8%）、13%（95%置信区间：8 - 21，I² = 97.3%）和8%（95%置信区间：6 - 11，I² = 81.0%）。总体而言，1980年之后的这些年里，抑郁症状的患病率相对保持稳定（总体：β = -0.12，95%置信区间：[-0.39, 0.15]，p = 0.39；轻度：β = 0.24，95%置信区间：[-0.02, 0.51]，p = 0.07；中度：β = -0.24，95%置信区间：[-0.75, 0.26]，p = 0.34；重度：β = 0.13，95%置信区间：[-0.25, 0.51]，p = 0.50）。博士生比硕士生经历更多的抑郁症状（43%对27%；Q = 2.23，自由度 = 1，p = 0.13），并且与采用随机抽样的研究相比，使用非随机抽样方法的研究报告的轻度抑郁患病率更高，中度抑郁症状患病率更低（总体：34%对29%；Q = 0.45，自由度 = 1，p = 0.50；轻度：29%对21%；Q = 1.69，自由度 = 1，p = 0.19；中度：16%对25%；Q = 1.79，自由度 = 1，p = 0.18；重度：8%对9%；Q = 0.13，自由度 = 1，p = 0.72），尽管这些差异无统计学意义。抑郁症状的患病率受到测量方法和主要研究质量的影响。超过三分之一的研究生报告有抑郁症状，这表明研究生易患心理健康风险。学校管理人员、教师和学生应共同采取行动，防止研究生的精神障碍病情加重。
