Muhammad Naeem Khan1,2, Parveen Akhtar3, Saira Ijaz4, Ahmed Waqas5,6. 1. Metro South Addiction and Mental Health Services, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. 2. School of Medical Sciences, Griffith Health, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. 3. School of Public Health, Global Health Institute, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China. 4. Department of Psychiatry, King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan. 5. Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom. 6. Human Development Research Foundation (HDRF), Islamabad, Pakistan.
Abstract
Background: In Pakistan, almost 30% population is between 15 to 29 years of age, with university enrollment rates of 10-15%. Although there is a growing concern on mental health of university students across the globe, studies from low and middle income countries such as Pakistan are scarce. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence of depressive symptoms among Pakistani university students. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, PsycInfo and Google Scholar were searched between 15 to 30th January 2020. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, published till 31st December 2019 were included. Data on study characteristics and prevalence of depressive symptoms were extracted. Meta-analysis was conducted using random effects models. To estimate subgroup difference based on study characteristics, meta-regression and sub-group analyses were conducted. Results: In total, 26 studies involving 7,652 participants were included in review. Overall prevalence of depressive symptoms was 42.66% (95% CI: 34.82% to 50.89%), with significant heterogeneity among studies. Subgroup analyses revealed a significant difference in prevalence estimates based on depression screening instrument and study major. Statistically significant differences were observed among studies employing different psychometric scales (test for subgroup differences, Q = 21.92, p < 0.05) and between students from different study majors (test for subgroup differences, Q = 3.76, p = 0.05). Conclusion: Our study found that overall prevalence of depressive symptoms among university students in Pakistan was 42.66%, however, findings should be interpreted with caution. Large scale epidemiological surveys using valid and reliable tools are needed to better estimate prevalence of depression among Pakistani university students.
Background: In Pakistan, almost 30% population is between 15 to 29 years of age, with university enrollment rates of 10-15%. Although there is a growing concern on mental health of university students across the globe, studies from low and middle income countries such as Pakistan are scarce. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence of depressive symptoms among Pakistani university students. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, PsycInfo and Google Scholar were searched between 15 to 30th January 2020. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, published till 31st December 2019 were included. Data on study characteristics and prevalence of depressive symptoms were extracted. Meta-analysis was conducted using random effects models. To estimate subgroup difference based on study characteristics, meta-regression and sub-group analyses were conducted. Results: In total, 26 studies involving 7,652 participants were included in review. Overall prevalence of depressive symptoms was 42.66% (95% CI: 34.82% to 50.89%), with significant heterogeneity among studies. Subgroup analyses revealed a significant difference in prevalence estimates based on depression screening instrument and study major. Statistically significant differences were observed among studies employing different psychometric scales (test for subgroup differences, Q = 21.92, p < 0.05) and between students from different study majors (test for subgroup differences, Q = 3.76, p = 0.05). Conclusion: Our study found that overall prevalence of depressive symptoms among university students in Pakistan was 42.66%, however, findings should be interpreted with caution. Large scale epidemiological surveys using valid and reliable tools are needed to better estimate prevalence of depression among Pakistani university students.
Authors: Ronald C Kessler; Matthias Angermeyer; James C Anthony; Ron DE Graaf; Koen Demyttenaere; Isabelle Gasquet; Giovanni DE Girolamo; Semyon Gluzman; Oye Gureje; Josep Maria Haro; Norito Kawakami; Aimee Karam; Daphna Levinson; Maria Elena Medina Mora; Mark A Oakley Browne; José Posada-Villa; Dan J Stein; Cheuk Him Adley Tsang; Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola; Jordi Alonso; Sing Lee; Steven Heeringa; Beth-Ellen Pennell; Patricia Berglund; Michael J Gruber; Maria Petukhova; Somnath Chatterji; T Bedirhan Ustün Journal: World Psychiatry Date: 2007-10 Impact factor: 49.548
Authors: Jordi Alonso; Philippe Mortier; Randy P Auerbach; Ronny Bruffaerts; Gemma Vilagut; Pim Cuijpers; Koen Demyttenaere; David D Ebert; Edel Ennis; Raul A Gutiérrez-García; Jennifer Greif Green; Penelope Hasking; Christine Lochner; Matthew K Nock; Stephanie Pinder-Amaker; Nancy A Sampson; Alan M Zaslavsky; Ronald C Kessler Journal: Depress Anxiety Date: 2018-05-30 Impact factor: 6.505
Authors: Ali H Mokdad; Mohammad Hossein Forouzanfar; Farah Daoud; Arwa A Mokdad; Charbel El Bcheraoui; Maziar Moradi-Lakeh; Hmwe Hmwe Kyu; Ryan M Barber; Joseph Wagner; Kelly Cercy; Hannah Kravitz; Megan Coggeshall; Adrienne Chew; Kevin F O'Rourke; Caitlyn Steiner; Marwa Tuffaha; Raghid Charara; Essam Abdullah Al-Ghamdi; Yaser Adi; Rima A Afifi; Hanan Alahmadi; Fadia AlBuhairan; Nicholas Allen; Mohammad AlMazroa; Abdulwahab A Al-Nehmi; Zulfa AlRayess; Monika Arora; Peter Azzopardi; Carmen Barroso; Mohammed Basulaiman; Zulfiqar A Bhutta; Chris Bonell; Cecilia Breinbauer; Louisa Degenhardt; Donna Denno; Jing Fang; Adesegun Fatusi; Andrea B Feigl; Ritsuko Kakuma; Nadim Karam; Elissa Kennedy; Tawfik A M Khoja; Fadi Maalouf; Carla Makhlouf Obermeyer; Amitabh Mattoo; Terry McGovern; Ziad A Memish; George A Mensah; Vikram Patel; Suzanne Petroni; Nicola Reavley; Diego Rios Zertuche; Mohammad Saeedi; John Santelli; Susan M Sawyer; Fred Ssewamala; Kikelomo Taiwo; Muhammad Tantawy; Russell M Viner; Jane Waldfogel; Maria Paola Zuñiga; Mohsen Naghavi; Haidong Wang; Theo Vos; Alan D Lopez; Abdullah A Al Rabeeah; George C Patton; Christopher J L Murray Journal: Lancet Date: 2016-05-09 Impact factor: 79.321