Systematic review and meta-analysis of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among Ph.D. students.

Journal: Scientific reports

Volume: 11

Issue: 1

Year of Publication: 2021

Affiliated Institutions:  Center for Global Health, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. satinsky@usc.edu. San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, San Mateo, CA, USA. Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA. Harvard Society of Fellows, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. Department of Economics, Hankamer School of Business, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA. Department of Sociology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA. Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Departments of Newborn Medicine and Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. Centre for Global Health, Edinburgh Medical School, Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. Department of Global Health, Institute for Life Course Health Research, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa. Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles Area Health Services Research Training Program, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Center for Global Health, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. actsai@partners.org.

Abstract summary 

University administrators and mental health clinicians have raised concerns about depression and anxiety among Ph.D. students, yet no study has systematically synthesized the available evidence in this area. After searching the literature for studies reporting on depression, anxiety, and/or suicidal ideation among Ph.D. students, we included 32 articles. Among 16 studies reporting the prevalence of clinically significant symptoms of depression across 23,469 Ph.D. students, the pooled estimate of the proportion of students with depression was 0.24 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.18-0.31; I = 98.75%). In a meta-analysis of the nine studies reporting the prevalence of clinically significant symptoms of anxiety across 15,626 students, the estimated proportion of students with anxiety was 0.17 (95% CI, 0.12-0.23; I = 98.05%). We conclude that depression and anxiety are highly prevalent among Ph.D. students. Data limitations precluded our ability to obtain a pooled estimate of suicidal ideation prevalence. Programs that systematically monitor and promote the mental health of Ph.D. students are urgently needed.

Authors & Co-authors:  Satinsky Emily N EN Kimura Tomoki T Kiang Mathew V MV Abebe Rediet R Cunningham Scott S Lee Hedwig H Lin Xiaofei X Liu Cindy H CH Rudan Igor I Sen Srijan S Tomlinson Mark M Yaver Miranda M Tsai Alexander C AC

Study Outcome 

Source Link: Visit source

Statistics
Citations :  Woolston C. Why mental health matters. Nature. 2018;557:129–131. doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-04998-1.
Authors :  13
Identifiers
Doi : 14370
SSN : 2045-2322
Study Population
Male,Female
Mesh Terms
Anxiety
Other Terms
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Approach
Systemic Review
Country of Study
Publication Country
England