Depressive Symptoms Among Higher Education Students in Germany--A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objectives: Higher education students in Germany are vulnerable to depressive symptoms. Despite ample evidence, no comprehensive review has recently been conducted. Thus, our systematic review and meta-analysis aims at describing the extent to which students are affected by depressive symptoms. Methods: We searched three databases for articles reporting the prevalence rates of depressiveness among students in Germany published between 2002 and 2023. Pooled prevalence rates were calculated using random effects models, both for the overall sample and for subgroups categorized by gender, study setting, assessment instrument, and whether the study was conducted before or during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The search yielded 992 records. After screening, 60 articles remained for data extraction. About one out of five students (21.1%) exhibits depressive symptoms. Pooled prevalence rates differ between subgroups, with higher rates during the COVID-19 pandemic than before (30.6% versus 18.0%) and with females being more affected than their male counterparts (29.0% versus 23.1%). Conclusion: This review underlines the urgency with which the mental health of students should be addressed at the (higher educational) policy level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Public Health Reviews (2107-6952) is the property of Frontiers Media S.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)