背景:抑郁症是大学生中的常见问题,在COVID-19大流行期间尤其加剧。然而,有限的研究特别关注大学进入者的抑郁症。
目的:本研究旨在使用新加坡入学大学生填写的健康筛查问卷,确定COVID-19大流行不同阶段抑郁症的患病率和相关因素。
方法:在新加坡一所公立大学进行了一项重复的横断面研究。数据来自2020年和2021年实施的健康筛查问卷,涉及15630名新入学的大学生,进行了分析。问卷涵盖了学生的社会人口统计信息,身体健康状况,自己和家族病史,生活方式行为,和患者健康问卷(PHQ-9)。PHQ-9用于测量抑郁症状的严重程度,分类为中度至重度抑郁症状(MSDS),轻度抑郁症状(MDS),或无抑郁症状(NDS)。多元logistic回归用于评估社会人口统计学,抑郁症的身体和行为相关因素。
结果:2020年和2021年MSDS的患病率为1%,而2020年和2021年的MDS患病率分别为1.93%和1.64%。在2020年的队列中,报告健康状况较好的男性新生患抑郁症的可能性较低。相反,马来人的学生,那些主修工程的人,那些患有多种慢性疾病的人,每月酒精消费者,当前吸烟者,有精神障碍家族史的人患抑郁症的可能性更高。此外,在2021年队列中,住在校内的学生比那些住在校外的学生患抑郁症的可能性更小。然而,学术专业之间的协会,酒精消费,在2021年队列中,吸烟伴抑郁并不显著。
结论:本研究报告新加坡大学入学学生中MSDS和MDS的患病率较低。该研究进一步确定了与抑郁症相关的三类因素:社会人口统计学,物理,和行为。这项研究提出了政策干预措施,以增强针对性的社会支持,以解决每个学生群体的特定要求和敏感性。有必要进行更广泛和全面的研究,以评估COVID-19大流行后学生心理健康状况的变化。
BACKGROUND: Depression is a common issue among university students and has been particularly exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, limited research has specifically focused on depression among university entrants.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression severity and identify associated factors during different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic using health screening questionnaires completed by matriculated university students in Singapore.
METHODS: A repeated cross-sectional study was conducted at a public university in Singapore. Data from health screening questionnaires administered in 2020 and 2021, involving 15,630 newly enrolled university students, were analyzed. The questionnaires covered students\' sociodemographic information, physical health status, own and family medical history, lifestyle behaviours, and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The PHQ-9 was used to measure the severity of depressive symptoms, categorizing into moderate to severe depressive symptoms (MSDS), mild depressive symptoms (MDS), or no depressive symptom (NDS). Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the sociodemographic, physical and behavioural correlates of depression.
RESULTS: The prevalence of MSDS was 1% in both 2020 and 2021, while the rates for MDS were 1.93% in 2020 and 1.64% in 2021. In the 2020 cohort, male freshmen who reported better health had a lower likelihood of experiencing depression. Conversely, students of Malay ethnicity, those majoring in Engineering, those with multiple chronic diseases, monthly alcohol consumers, current smokers, and those with a family history of mental disorder had a higher likelihood of experiencing depression. Moreover, students who lived on-campus in the 2021 cohort were less likely to experience depression than those living off-campus. However, the associations between academic majors, alcohol consumption, and smoking with depression were not significant in the 2021 cohort.
CONCLUSIONS: This study reported a low prevalence of both MSDS and MDS among university entrants in Singapore. The study further identified three categories of factors associated with depression: sociodemographic, physical, and behavioural. This study suggests policy interventions to enhance targeted social support that address each student group\'s specific requirements and susceptibilities. A more extensive and comprehensive study is warranted to assess the changes in student mental health status post-COVID-19 pandemic.