HOMEPRODUCTSCOMPANYCONTACTFAQResearchDictionaryPharmaSign Up FREE or Login

[Prevalence of mental disorders among college students at a German university].

AbstractBACKGROUND:
Students are an important part of the general population of Germany, but only limited information exists about the prevalence of common psychological syndromes among them.
OBJECTIVE:
To provide prevalence rates for various psychological syndromes (affective, anxiety, somotoform, eating disorders, and alcohol associated problems) among German university students.
METHODS:
A campus-wide survey including N = 1130 students at the University of Mannheim was conducted. Established assessment instruments were employed for this purpose: the German version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ), the German Version of the Whiteley-Index (WI), and the Chemical Odor Sensitivity Scale (COSS) to screen for idiopathic environmental intolerance (IEI).
RESULTS:
PHQ criteria for at least one psychological disorder (apart from the alcohol abuse/dependence syndrome) were met by 22.7% of the students, more frequently by women than men (OR = 1.8). The alcohol syndrome (30.2%) was most frequent and the only syndrome which was more frequent in men than in women. The next frequent syndrome was the somatoform syndrome (9.1%), followed by other depressive syndromes (8.1 %), IEI (7.2%), major depression (6.0%) and hypochondriasis (4.2%). The presence of hypochondriasis increased greatly the risk for co-morbid disorders. All syndromes--with the exception of the alcohol syndrome and the binge eating disorder--were accompanied by functional impairments.
CONCLUSIONS:
We consider these results rather alarming, as they indicate a considerable need for both preventive and curative interventions in German students. However, further epidemiological studies are needed to prove the generalizability of our findings and to examine functional interrelations among and the course of these psychological syndromes.
AuthorsJosef Bailer, Daniela Schwarz, Michael Witthöft, Cornelia Stübinger, Fred Rist
JournalPsychotherapie, Psychosomatik, medizinische Psychologie (Psychother Psychosom Med Psychol) Vol. 58 Issue 11 Pg. 423-9 (Nov 2008) ISSN: 1439-1058 [Electronic] Germany
Vernacular TitlePrävalenz psychischer Syndrome bei Studierenden einer deutschen Universität.
PMID18092284 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
Topics
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Environment
  • Female
  • Germany (epidemiology)
  • Humans
  • Hypochondriasis (epidemiology, psychology)
  • Male
  • Mental Disorders (epidemiology, psychology)
  • Odorants
  • Social Behavior Disorders (epidemiology, psychology)
  • Students (psychology, statistics & numerical data)
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Young Adult

Join CureHunter, for free Research Interface BASIC access!

Take advantage of free CureHunter research engine access to explore the best drug and treatment options for any disease. Find out why thousands of doctors, pharma researchers and patient activists around the world use CureHunter every day.
Realize the full power of the drug-disease research graph!


Choose Username:
Email:
Password:
Verify Password:
Enter Code Shown: