The Role of Campus Data in Representing Depression Among College Students: Exploratory Research

Daily routine disruptions and psychiatric symptoms amid COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis of data from 0.9 million individuals in 32 countries

BACKGROUND

There is currently a deficit of knowledge about how to define, quantify, and measure different aspects of daily routine disruptions amid large-scale disasters like COVID-19, and which psychiatric symptoms were more related to the disruptions. This study aims to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis on the probable positive associations between daily routine disruptions and mental disorders amid the COVID-19 pandemic and factors that moderated the associations.

METHODS

PsycINFO, Web of Science, PubMed, and MEDLINE were systematically searched up to April 2023 (PROSPERO: CRD42023356846). Independent variables included regularity, change in frequency, and change in capability of different daily routines (i.e., physical activity, diet, sleep, social activities, leisure activities, work and studies, home activities, smoking, alcohol, combined multiple routines, unspecified generic routines). Dependent variables included symptoms and/or diagnoses of mental disorders (i.e., depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and general psychological distress).

RESULTS

Fifty-three eligible studies (51 independent samples, 910,503 respondents) were conducted in five continents. Daily routine disruptions were positively associated with depressive symptoms (r = 0.13, 95% CI = [0.06; 0.20], p < 0.001), anxiety symptoms (r = 0.12, 95% CI = [0.06; 0.17], p < 0.001), and general psychological distress (r = 0.09, 95% CI = [0.02; 0.16], p = 0.02). The routine-symptom associations were significant for physical activity, eating, sleep, and smoking (i.e., type), routines that were defined and assessed on regularity and change in capability (i.e., definition and assessment), and routines that were not internet-based. While the positive associations remained consistent across different sociodemographics, they were stronger in geo-temporal contexts with greater pandemic severity, lower governmental economic support, and when the routine-symptom link was examined prospectively.

CONCLUSIONS

This is one of the first meta-analytic evidence to show the positive association between daily routine disruptions and symptoms of mental disorders among large populations as COVID-19 dynamically unfolded across different geo-temporal contexts. Our findings highlight the priority of behavioral adjustment for enhancing population mental health in future large-scale disasters like COVID-19.

Influencing factors, prediction and prevention of depression in college students: A literature review

The high prevalence of depression among college students has a strong negative impact on individual physical and mental health, academic development, and interpersonal communication. This paper reviewed the extant literature by identifying nonpathological factors related to college students' depression, investigating the methods of predicting depression, and exploring nonpharmaceutical interventions for college students' depression. The influencing factors of college students' depression mainly fell into four categories: biological factors, personality and psychological state, college experience, and lifestyle. The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 has exacerbated the severity of depression among college students worldwide and poses grave challenges to the prevention and treatment of depression, given that the coronavirus has spread quickly with high infection rates, and the pandemic has changed the daily routines of college life. To predict and measure mental health, more advanced methods, such as machine algorithms and artificial intelligence, have emerged in recent years apart from the traditional commonly used psychological scales. Regarding nonpharmaceutical prevention measures, both general measures and professional measures for the prevention and treatment of college students' depression were examined in this study. Students who experience depressive disorders need family support and personalized interventions at college, which should also be supplemented by professional interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy and online therapy. Through this literature review, we insist that the technology of identification, prediction, and prevention of depression among college students based on big data platforms will be extensively used in the future. Higher education institutions should understand the potential risk factors related to college students' depression and make more accurate screening and prevention available with the help of advanced technologies.

Need to establish a new adolescent suicide prevention programme in South Korea

Adolescent suicide is the leading cause of death among South Korean (Korean) youth. Despite great efforts being made towards suicide prevention in Korea, the suicide rate has not decreased significantly. There is an urgent need for a new adolescent suicide prevention strategy. This paper describes the seriousness of the issue of adolescent suicide in Korea, evaluates its current management by the SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) and further recommends a new suicide prevention programme that integrates national/social involvement (State Suicide Intervention Committee, suicide posts’ monitoring, parental divorce information sharing and Adolescence Mental Health Promotion Foundation), school-based programmes (continuous monitoring system, psychology consultation team and mental health educational curricula) and family-based programmes (parental education and family-school communication). In addition, genetic analysis, biochemical tests and psychological disease registration are the indispensable elements that aid in suicidal behaviour prevention and prediction.

Effect of Tai Chi on psychological disorder in college students: A protocol of systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

This study will explore the effect of Tai Chi on psychological disorder (PD) in college students (CS).

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search of relevant randomized controlled trials will be carried out in electronic databases from inception to the February 29, 2020: PUBMED, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. There are not limitations related to the language and publication time. Study quality will be assessed by Cochrane risk of bias tool, and evidence quality will be appraised by the grading of recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation approach. RevMan 5.3 software will be exploited to perform statistical analysis.

RESULTS

The protocol of this proposed study will investigate the effect of Tai Chi on PD in CS.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study will provide helpful evidence for clinical practice, and health related policy maker to develop a better intervention plan for PD in CS.

STUDY REGISTRATION NUMBER

INPLASY202040140.