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Trends in incidence of self-harm, neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions among university students compared with the general population: nationwide electronic data linkage study in Wales

Ann John Orcid Logo, Olivier Rouquette Orcid Logo, Jo Smith, Sze Chim Lee Orcid Logo, Marcos del Pozo Banos Orcid Logo

The British Journal of Psychiatry, Pages: 1 - 12

Swansea University Authors: Ann John Orcid Logo, Olivier Rouquette Orcid Logo, Sze Chim Lee Orcid Logo, Marcos del Pozo Banos Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1192/bjp.2024.90

Abstract

BackgroundConcern that self-harm and mental health conditions are increasing in university students may reflect widening access to higher education, existing population trends and/or stressors associated with this setting.AimsTo compare population-level data on self-harm, neurodevelopmental and ment...

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Published in: The British Journal of Psychiatry
ISSN: 0007-1250 1472-1465
Published: CUP / Royal College of Psychiatrists 2024
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66079
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Abstract: BackgroundConcern that self-harm and mental health conditions are increasing in university students may reflect widening access to higher education, existing population trends and/or stressors associated with this setting.AimsTo compare population-level data on self-harm, neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions between university students and non-students with similar characteristics before and during enrolment.MethodThis cohort study linked electronic records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency for 2012–2018 to primary and secondary healthcare records. Students were undergraduates aged 18 to 24 years at university entry. Non-students were pseudo-randomly selected based on an equivalent age distribution. Logistic regressions were used to calculate odds ratios. Poisson regressions were used to calculate incidence rate ratios (IRR).ResultsThe study included 96 760 students and 151 795 non-students. Being male, self-harm and mental health conditions recorded before university entry, and higher deprivation levels, resulted in lower odds of becoming a student and higher odds of drop-out from university. IRRs for self-harm, depression, anxiety, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), drug use and schizophrenia were lower for students. IRRs for self-harm, depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, ASD, alcohol use and schizophrenia increased more in students than in non-students over time. Older students experienced greater risk of self-harm and mental health conditions, whereas younger students were more at risk of alcohol use than non-student counterparts.ConclusionsMental health conditions in students are common and diverse. While at university, students require person-centred stepped care, integrated with local third-sector and healthcare services to address specific conditions.
Keywords: University students; self-harm; mental health; electronic health records; neurodevelopmental disorders
College: Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
Funders: This study has been carried out as part of the Administrative Data Research (ADR) Wales programme of work. The ADR Wales programme of work is aligned to the priority themes identified in the Welsh Government’s national strategy, Prosperity for All. ADR Wales brings together data science experts at Swansea University Medical School (Swansea, UK), staff from the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods at Cardiff University (Cardiff, UK), and specialist teams within the Welsh Government to develop new evidence that supports Prosperity for All by using the SAIL Databank at Swansea University to link and analyse anonymised data. ADR Wales is part of the Economic and Social Research Council (part of UK Research and Innovation)-funded ADR UK (grant ES/S007393/1). This work was supported by the Adolescent Mental Health Data Platform (ADP). The ADP is funded by MQ Mental Health Research Charity (Grant Reference MQBF/3 ADP). ADP and the author(s) would like to acknowledge the data providers who supplied the datasets enabling this research study. The views expressed are entirely those of the authors and should not be assumed to be the same as those of ADP or MQ Mental Health Research Charity. This work was supported by the Wolfson Centre for Young People’s Mental Health, established with support from the Wolfson Foundation. This project was funded by UKRI – Medical Research Council through the DATAMIND HDR UK Mental Health Data Hub (MRC reference: MR/W014386)
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