Table 1.
Prevalence of reported lifetime mental health disorders and clinically significant symptoms at entry to university and completion of first year, by cohort
| Outcome measure | Score at entry to first year, mean (s.d.) | Score at end of first year, mean (s.d.) | Proportion at entry to university, n (%) | Proportion at end of first year, n (%) | Difference in proportions, entry versus year end (P-value) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cohort 1 analysis group (2018–2019) | 1519 (100.0) | ||||
| Female | – | – | 1108 (72.9) | – | – |
| Lifetime sleep disordera | – | – | 43 (2.8) | 67 (4.4) | <0.001 |
| Lifetime mood disordera | – | – | 149 (9.8) | 183 (12.0) | <0.001 |
| Lifetime anxiety disordera | – | – | 258 (17.0) | 307 (20.2) | <0.001 |
| Clinically significant insomnia symptomsb | 9.7 (6.5) | 11.8 (7.1) | 304 (20.0) | 447 (29.4) | <0.001 |
| Clinically significant depression symptomsc | 6.9 (5.7) | 8.6 (6.5) | 410 (27.0) | 557 (36.7) | <0.001 |
| Clinically significant anxiety symptomsd | 7.5 (5.6) | 8.5 (6.1) | 487 (32.1) | 590 (38.8) | <0.001 |
| Cohort 2 analysis group (2019–2020) | 860 (100.0) | ||||
| Female | – | – | 640 (74.4) | – | – |
| Lifetime sleep disordera | – | – | 28 (3.3) | 44 (5.1) | <0.001 |
| Lifetime mood disordera | – | – | 103 (12.0) | 119 (13.8) | <0.001 |
| Lifetime anxiety disordera | – | – | 186 (21.6) | 204 (23.7) | <0.001 |
| Clinically significant insomnia symptomsb | 11.4 (7.1) | 11.8 (7.5) | 239 (27.8) | 284 (33.0) | <0.001 |
| Clinically significant depression symptomsc | 7.8 (6.1) | 8.6 (6.3) | 287 (33.3) | 318 (37.0) | 0.03 |
| Clinically significant anxiety symptomsd | 7.6 (5.6) | 8.4 (5.6) | 274 (31.9) | 328 (38.3) | <0.001 |
P-values are from McNemar's χ2-test.
Entry to university: lifetime student-reported diagnoses up until entry to university. Completion of first year: lifetime student-reported diagnoses including new diagnoses over the first year of university.
Students screening positive on the reverse-coded Sleep Condition Indicator, using a threshold score of ≥16.
Students screening positive on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, using a threshold score of ≥10, before square-root transformation.
Students screening positive on the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7, using a threshold score of ≥10, before square-root transformation.