Al-Garni Abdulaziz M, Shati Ayed A, Almonawar Nora A, Alamri Ghadi M, Alasmre Lujain A, Saad Thamraa N, Alshehri Faisal M, Hammouda Esraa Abdellatif, Ghazy Ramy Mohammed
Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Child Health, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Jan 28;25(1):354. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-21277-7.
University students are more likely to experience mental disorders. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among health and non-health university students at King Khalid University students, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
An anonymous validated short form of Arabic questionnaire of the depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21) survey was distributed online on social media platforms and through face-to-face interview for 1700 students from March 1st to May 31st 2024. A multivariate linear regression model was used to examine the relationships between the independent variables (age, gender, academic year, and study field) and the dependent variables (depression, anxiety, and stress).
More than half of the surveyed students (72.8%) were females. The age distribution reveals that the majority of students (71.4%) fall within the 20-25 years old, 22.6% were in their third year, and more than half (58.6%) pursued studies in non-health science disciplines. Almost 12% experienced moderate stress and 39% suffered from moderate, severe, and extremely severe anxiety, while 29.5% had moderate to severe depression. Youths younger than 25 years were at higher risk of experiencing depression (45.14% vs. 32.32% P = 0.024), stress (46.87% vs. 33.33%, P = 0.034), and anxiety than older ages (55.52% vs.43.43%, P = 0.019). Females also suffered more stress (48.47% vs. 38.53%, P = 0.0001), and anxiety (58.32 vs. 48.48%, P = 0.0001) than males. The correlations between depression and anxiety (0.75), depression and stress (0.83), and anxiety and stress (0.81) all indicate very strong positive correlations, with all tests being highly significant (P < 0.001). Regression analysis revealed that older age was associated with lower depression scores (P = 0.017), while female gender was associated with higher anxiety and stress scores (P < 0.001 for both).
The findings highlight the urgent need for regular screening and monitoring of students' mental health status at King Khalid University. Implementing targeted mental health interventional programs is essential to help students to cope with different stressors with a particular focus on addressing the heightened challenges faced by female students.
大学生更容易出现精神障碍。本研究旨在评估沙特阿拉伯王国阿卜哈市哈利德国王大学健康与非健康专业大学生中抑郁、焦虑和压力的患病率。
2024年3月1日至5月31日，通过社交媒体平台在线发放并通过面对面访谈，对1700名学生进行了一份经过验证的阿拉伯语版抑郁、焦虑和压力量表（DASS-21）简短匿名问卷调查。使用多元线性回归模型来检验自变量（年龄、性别、学年和专业领域）与因变量（抑郁、焦虑和压力）之间的关系。
超过一半（72.8%）的受访学生为女性。年龄分布显示，大多数学生（71.4%）年龄在20至25岁之间，2年级学生占22.6%，超过一半（58.6%）的学生攻读非健康科学专业。近12%的学生经历中度压力，39%的学生患有中度、重度和极重度焦虑，29.5%的学生患有中度至重度抑郁。25岁以下的年轻人比年长者患抑郁症（45.14%对32.32%，P = 0.024）、压力（46.87%对33.33%，P = 0.034）和焦虑（55.52%对43.43%，P = 0.019）的风险更高。女性也比男性承受更多压力（48.47%对38.53%，P = 0.0001）和焦虑（58.32对48.48%，P = 0.0001）。抑郁与焦虑（0.75）、抑郁与压力（0.83）以及焦虑与压力（0.81）之间的相关性均表明存在非常强的正相关，所有检验均具有高度显著性（P < 0.001）。回归分析显示，年龄较大与较低的抑郁得分相关（P = 0.017），而女性性别与较高的焦虑和压力得分相关（两者P < 0.001）。
研究结果凸显了在哈利德国王大学定期筛查和监测学生心理健康状况的迫切需求。实施有针对性的心理健康干预项目对于帮助学生应对不同压力源至关重要，尤其要关注解决女学生面临的更大挑战。
