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Prevalence of Depression among Chinese University Students: A Meta-Analysis

Open access
Lei, Xian-Yang, Xiao, La-Mei, Liu, Ya-Nan, Li, Ya-Min·2016·PLOS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0153454PMC PMC4829172
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Depression is a major mental health issue worldwide, and university students with heavy burdens of study are at a high risk for depression. While a number of studies have been conducted regarding depression among university students in China, there is a lack of information regarding the national prevalence of depression among Chinese university students. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to statistically pool the prevalence of depression among Chinese university students. METHODS: A systematic search of scientific databases was conducted, including Chinese Web of Knowledge, Embase, PubMed, Wanfang (a Chinese database) and Weipu (a Chinese database) to find relevant publications published between 1995 and December 2015. This was supplemented by a secondary review of the reference lists of all retrieved papers to find additional relevant citations. Studies published in either English or Chinese that provided prevalence estimates of depression in Chinese university students were considered. Prevalence estimates of each eligible study were extracted and pooled in our meta-analysis using a random-effects model. RESULTS: A total of 39 studies conducted between 1997 and 2015 including 32,694 university students were analyzed. Our results indicate that the overall prevalence of depression among Chinese university students is 23.8% (95% CI: 19.9%-28.5%). Substantial heterogeneity in prevalence estimates was noted. Subgroup analysis revealed that the prevalence of depression among medical students is higher than among other students. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the prevalence of depression among Chinese university students is exceedingly high. This suggests that it is imperative that more attention be given to the development of appropriate mental healthcare strategies for university students in China.

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Crossref · 10.1371/journal.pone.0153454

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Fig 1 Flow diagram of the study selection process. From: Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, The PRISMA Group (2009). Preferred Reporting /terns for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement. PLoS Med 6(6): e1000097. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed1000097 For more information, visit www.prisma-statement.org.
Fig 1 Flow diagram of the study selection process. From: Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, The PRISMA Group (2009). Preferred Reporting /terns for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement. PLoS Med 6(6): e1000097. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed1000097 For more information, visit www.prisma-statement.org.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig 2 Forest plot of the prevalence of depression for the total population.
Fig 2 Forest plot of the prevalence of depression for the total population.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig 3 Plot of sensitivity analysis by excluding one study each time and the pooling estimate for the rest of the studies.
Fig 3 Plot of sensitivity analysis by excluding one study each time and the pooling estimate for the rest of the studies.CC BY · PubMed Central
Fig 4 Filled funnel plot of the included studies (log odds ratio, horizontal axis; standard error, vertical axis).
Fig 4 Filled funnel plot of the included studies (log odds ratio, horizontal axis; standard error, vertical axis).CC BY · PubMed Central

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. MY Luo, 2010, Social Assessment and Subdividing of After-1980s, China Youth Study, 11, 32
  2. M Nguyen, 2011, Why medical school is depressing and what we should be doing about it, Australian Medical Student Journal, 2, 65

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Metadata

Authors
Lei, X.-Y., Xiao, L.-M., Liu, Y.-N., & Li, Y.-M.
Affiliations
Central South University (CN)
Venue
PLOS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2016-04-12
Volume
11
Issue
4
Pages
e0153454
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0153454
PMC
PMC4829172
OpenAlex
W2336738582
Cited by
300
References
48
Citations by year
2026: 20 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 41 · 2023: 36 · 2022: 35 · 2021: 58 · 2020: 39 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 2
FWCI
2.46
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout
Keywords
depression, prevalence, university students, Chinese students, medical students, student mental health, mental health services
MeSH terms
China, Depression, Humans, Students, Universities, Prevalence

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