Greater risk of depression, anxiety when in higher education, study reveals

Young people in higher education in England have a slightly higher risk of depression and anxiety than their counterparts who do not attend higher education according to a new study headed by UCL academicsThe research paper published in The Lancet Public Health is the first to find evidence of higher levels of depression and anxiety among higher education students compared with their peersThe authors found that by age 25 the difference had disappeared between graduates and nongraduatesLead author Dr Gemma Lewis UCL Psychiatry said In recent years in the UK we have seen an increase in mental health problems among young people so there has been an increased focus on how to support students Here we have found concerning evidence that students may have a higher risk of depression and anxiety than their peers of the same age who are not in higher educationThe first couple of years of higher education are a crucial time for development so if we could improve the mental health of young people during this time it could have long term benefits for their health and wellbeing as well as for their educational achievement and longerterm successThe researchers used data from the Longitudinal Studies of Young People in England LSYPE1 and LSYPE2 The first study included 4832 young people born in 198990 who were aged 1819 in the years 20079 The second study included 6128 participants born in 199899 who were aged 1819 in the years 201618 ie prior to the disruption of the COVID19 pandemic In both studies just over half attended higher educationParticipants in the studies have completed surveys about their general mental health to investigate symptoms of depression anxiety and social dysfunction at multiple time points over the yearsThe researchers found a small difference in symptoms of depression and anxiety at age 1819 between students including those at university and other higher education institutions and nonstudentsThis association persisted after adjustment for potentially confounding factors including among others socioeconomic status parents education and alcohol useThe analysis suggests that if the potential mental health risks of attending higher education were eliminated the incidence of depression and anxiety could potentially be reduced by 637 among people aged 1819First author Dr Tayla McCloud UCL Psychiatry said Based on our findings we cannot say why students might be more at risk of depression and anxiety than their peers but it could be related to academic or financial pressure This increased risk among students has not been found in studies in the past so if the association has only recently emerged it may be related to increased financial pressures and worries about achieving high results in the wider economic and social contextWe would have expected higher education students to have better mental health than their nonstudent peers as they tend to be from more privileged backgrounds on average so these results are particularly concerning More research is needed to clarify the mental health risks facing studentsImproving our understanding of modifiable risk factors for depression and anxiety is a global health priority and it is clear that supporting the mental health of our young people is vitally importantThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever