Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of College Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BackgroundThe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has been spreading and brought unprecedented psychological pressure on people across the entire globe since December 2019.ObjectivesTo synthesize the existing evidence of the prevalence of mental health status during the epidemic and provide the basis for mental health education.Materials and methodsThe literature search was conducted in nine databases from December 2019 to October 2020. The risk of bias for each study was assessed, and the random-effects meta-analysis was used to estimate the prevalence of specific mental health problems. The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO with the registration number CRD42020208619.ResultsAbout 27 studies were included in the analysis with a total of 706,415 participants combined, and 14 mental health problems were gathered. Meta-analysis showed that the prevalence of depression was 39% (95% CI: 27–51%) and that of anxiety was 36% (95% CI: 26–46%). Subgroup analysis indicated that the prevalence of depression and anxiety varied among nations and due to the survey date. The prevalence of depression (60%, 95% CI: 46–74%) and anxiety (60%, 95% CI: 46–74%) in non-Chinese college students was higher than those in Chinese college students (26%, 95% CI: 21–30% and 20%, 95% CI: 14–26%). The proportion of depression (54%, 95% CI: 40–67%) and anxiety (37%, 95% CI: 26–48%) was higher after March 1 than before it (21%, 95% CI: 16–25% and 19%, 95% CI: 13–25%).ConclusionsThe meta-analysis results presented that the prevalence of depression (39%) or anxiety (36%) among college students greatly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the mental health of college students is affected by the nations and the survey date. It was necessary to take measures to reduce mental health risks during the pandemic.

Download Full-text

Interventions for common mental health problems among university and college students: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Journal of Psychiatric Research ◽

10.1016/j.jpsychires.2018.09.018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 107 ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Junping Huang ◽

Yeshambel T. Nigatu ◽

Rachel Smail-Crevier ◽

Xin Zhang ◽

Jianli Wang

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

College Students ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Randomized Controlled Trials ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Health Problems ◽

Controlled Trials ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Common Mental Health Problems

Download Full-text

Low Physical Activity and High Screen Time Can Increase the Risks of Mental Health Problems and Poor Sleep Quality among Chinese College Students

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0119607 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. e0119607 ◽

Cited By ~ 75

Author(s):

Xiaoyan Wu ◽

Shuman Tao ◽

Yukun Zhang ◽

Shichen Zhang ◽

Fangbiao Tao

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Physical Activity ◽

College Students ◽

Sleep Quality ◽

Screen Time ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Health Problems ◽

Poor Sleep ◽

Poor Sleep Quality ◽

Chinese College Students

Download Full-text

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Mental Health Problems Among Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.567381 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Qinjian Hao ◽

Dahai Wang ◽

Min Xie ◽

Yiguo Tang ◽

Yikai Dou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Health Problems ◽

Post Traumatic Stress ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Prevalence Of Depression

Objective: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to summarize the prevalence and risk factors of mental health problems among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: We applied an optimized search strategy across the PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, PsycINFO, and four Chinese databases, with hand searching supplemented to identify relevant surveys. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were published in peer-reviewed literature and used a validated method to assess the prevalence and risk factors of mental health problems among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Heterogeneity was quantified using Q statistics and the I2 statistics. The potential causes of heterogeneity were investigated using subgroup analysis and meta-regression analysis. Sensitivity analysis was performed to examine the robustness of the results.Results: We pooled and analyzed data from 20 studies comprising 10,886 healthcare workers. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, insomnia, post-traumatic stress symptoms, phobia, obsessive–compulsive symptoms, and somatization symptoms was 24.1, 28.6, 44.1, 25.6, 35.0, 16.2, and 10.7%, respectively. Female and nurses had a high prevalence of depression and anxiety. Frontline healthcare workers had a higher prevalence of anxiety and a lower prevalence of depression than the those in the second-line. Furthermore, the proportion of moderate–severe depression and anxiety is higher in the frontline. Additionally, four studies reported on risk factors of mental health problems.Conclusions: In this systematic review, healthcare workers have a relatively high prevalence of depression, anxiety, insomnia, post-traumatic stress symptoms, phobia, obsessive–compulsive symptoms, and somatization symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic, and focus should be on the healthcare workers at high risk of mental problems. Mental health problems in healthcare workers should be taken seriously, and timely screening and appropriate intervention for the high-risk group are highly recommended.Systematic Review Registration:https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42020179189.

Download Full-text

Problems and Countermeasures of College Students’ Mental Health Education

Journal of Healthcare Engineering ◽

10.1155/2022/6430855 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 2022 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Xiaoli Zhang

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

College Students ◽

Health Education ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Health Problems ◽

Policy Support ◽

Self Awareness ◽

Psychological Counseling ◽

Mental Health Education ◽

Psychological Pressure

Compared with the previous teaching environment and model, college students need more self-awareness and self-discipline to learn better. In order to solve many mental health problems of college students, this work studies that the school should increase policy support to relevant parties and strengthen the cultivation of college students’ psychological counseling ability, so as to provide more psychological counseling services for college students. This work studies and analyzes the common problems in contemporary college students’ mental health education, such as lack of teachers, mere formality, imperfect system, and poor pertinence, and puts forward the corresponding countermeasures for college students’ mental health education. When college students enter the university, they need to further improve their knowledge and ability to achieve professional development in a relatively loose learning environment. University is a key period for college students’ personality improvement and physical and mental development. With the increasing pressure of social employment, the psychological pressure of college students is increasing. This study provides a reference for the mental health problems of college students.

Download Full-text