Prevalence of Depression among Chinese University Students: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract Estimates of the depression prevalence among Chinese university students vary considerably across studies. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to comprehensively analyze the depression prevalence among Chinese university students. We searched four electronic databases with the search terms of depression, China, university student, and questionnaire. Studies reporting depression among Chinese university students were included in the analysis. Two reviewers independently extracted the data and assessed the qualities of the studies. The package of “meta” in R Foundation for Statistical Computing was used to calculate an overall proportion in a random-effects model with 95% confidence intervals. Subgroup analysis was conducted to analyze the influencing factors on the depression prevalence. Any conflict in the data analysis was discussed by all the reviewers. A total of 113 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The overall prevalence of depression among Chinese university students was shown to be 28.4% (n = 185,787), with 95%CI from 25.7 to 31.2%. The overall depression prevalence among Chinese university students was still relatively high. More efforts need to be done to provide better mental healthcare to university students in China.

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Psychological interventions for depression in Chinese university students: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Journal of Affective Disorders ◽

10.1016/j.jad.2019.11.058 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 262 ◽

pp. 440-450

Author(s):

Zhongfang Fu ◽

Sijia Zhou ◽

Huibert Burger ◽

Claudi L.H. Bockting ◽

Alishia D. Williams

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

University Students ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Psychological Interventions ◽

Chinese University ◽

Chinese University Students

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Depression and its correlation with social support and health-promoting lifestyles among Chinese university students: a cross-sectional study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044236 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. e044236

Author(s):

Zaili Tang ◽

Shuidong Feng ◽

Jing Lin

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

University Students ◽

Healthy Lifestyle ◽

Secondary Outcome ◽

Comprehensive University ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Chinese University ◽

Prevalence Of Depression ◽

Health Promoting ◽

Chinese University Students

ObjectivesTo investigate the prevalence of depression in college students and determine how social support and healthy lifestyle factors are associated with depression in this population.DesignA cross-sectional design.SettingA comprehensive university in Changsha, Hunan, South China. The study was conducted from May to June 2019.ParticipantsA total of 541 students at the comprehensive university.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, Social Support Rating Scale and Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II (HPLP-II) were used to evaluate depression, social support and lifestyles, respectively, and analyse the mutual relationships among them.ResultsAmong the 541 participants, 161 (29.8%) experienced depressive symptoms, and there were significant gender-related and academic discipline-related differences in self-rated depression. The average social support score was 38.06 (38.06±7.52). The average HPLP-II score was 71.09 (71.09±11.47). A monofactor analysis showed that depression was correlated with social support and a healthy lifestyle. As demonstrated by logistic regression analysis, being a woman (OR=2.613, 95% CI: 1.541 to 4.43), inadequate social support (OR=0.912, 95% CI: 0.877 to 0.948), poor nutrition (OR=0.87, 95% CI: 0.775 to 0.977) and lack of self-actualisation (OR=0.644, 95% CI: 0.572 to 0.724) were significantly correlated with depression.ConclusionsOwing to the high prevalence of depression among Chinese university students, educational institutions must take measures such as providing compulsory mental health education courses and improving the psychological counselling services available to students.

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