Pinho Lara Guedes, Engström Maria, Schneider Brooke C, Fonseca Cesar, Lindberg Magnus, Schröder Johanna, Afonso Anabela, Jelinek Lena, Börsting Johanna, Jacinto Gonçalo, Nilsson Annika
Nursing Department, University of Évora, 7000-811, Évora, Portugal.
Comprehensive Health Research Centre, LA_REAL, University of Évora, 7000-811, Évora, Portugal.
Heliyon. 2025 Jan 15;11(2):e41957. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e41957. eCollection 2025 Jan 30.
The mental health of university students is a global concern, with high rates of depression and anxiety that need to be addressed.
We aimed to compare the mental health of Portuguese, Swedish and German university students in the health and social sciences following the Covid-19 pandemic and to analyze the factors associated with depressive and anxious symptoms in each country.
A cross-sectional study with a sample of students from Portugal, Germany and Sweden was conducted. Data from online questionnaires, including a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) and the MHI-5 (Mental Health Inventory) was collected from October to December 2022.
The sample was composed of 1670 university students. The prevalence of mild to severe depressive symptoms was 72.7 % in Germany, 62.9 % in Sweden, and 60.3 % in Portugal and the prevalence of mild to severe anxiety symptoms was 78.6 % in Portugal, 73.7 % in Germany, and 66.9 % in Sweden. Being a female student, having a previous mental health disorder diagnosis, and poor academic performance were associated with higher severity of depression and anxiety symptoms in all three countries. Country-specific factors associated with more depressive and/or anxiety symptoms were younger age, smoking, low socioeconomic level and living away from home. Swedish students who do not consume alcohol had more anxiety symptoms and German students who do not consume alcohol had more depressive symptoms.
The high prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms among students in the three countries highlights the need to address modifiable factors that contribute to this mental health burden. Our results, which are in line with international trends, underline the need for policy reforms that target the main determinants of mental health, in particular by improving socio-economic conditions. Addressing these factors could play a crucial role in improving mental health outcomes in this population.
大学生的心理健康是一个全球关注的问题，抑郁症和焦虑症的发病率很高，需要加以解决。
我们旨在比较新冠疫情后葡萄牙、瑞典和德国健康与社会科学专业大学生的心理健康状况，并分析每个国家与抑郁和焦虑症状相关的因素。
对来自葡萄牙、德国和瑞典的学生样本进行了一项横断面研究。2022年10月至12月收集了在线问卷的数据，包括社会人口统计学和临床问卷、患者健康问卷（PHQ-9）、广泛性焦虑障碍问卷（GAD-7）和心理健康量表（MHI-5）。
样本由1670名大学生组成。德国轻度至重度抑郁症状的患病率为72.7%，瑞典为62.9%，葡萄牙为60.3%；葡萄牙轻度至重度焦虑症状的患病率为78.6%，德国为73.7%，瑞典为66.9%。在所有三个国家，女性、曾被诊断患有心理健康障碍以及学业成绩不佳都与抑郁和焦虑症状的更高严重程度相关。与更多抑郁和/或焦虑症状相关的特定国家因素包括年龄较小、吸烟、社会经济水平低以及离家居住。不饮酒的瑞典学生焦虑症状更多，不饮酒的德国学生抑郁症状更多。
三个国家学生中抑郁和焦虑症状的高患病率凸显了应对导致这种心理健康负担的可改变因素的必要性。我们的结果与国际趋势一致，并强调需要针对心理健康的主要决定因素进行政策改革，特别是通过改善社会经济状况。解决这些因素对于改善这一人群的心理健康结果可能起着至关重要的作用。
