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Meta-Analysis
. 2020 Sep 28;10(1):15897.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-72998-1.

Prevalence of depression among Chinese university students: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Li Gao  1   2 , Yuanchen Xie  3 , Chunhua Jia  4 , Wei Wang  5
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Prevalence of depression among Chinese university students: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Li Gao et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Estimates of the depression prevalence among Chinese university students vary considerably across studies. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to comprehensively analyze the depression prevalence among Chinese university students. We searched four electronic databases with the search terms of depression, China, university student, and questionnaire. Studies reporting depression among Chinese university students were included in the analysis. Two reviewers independently extracted the data and assessed the qualities of the studies. The package of "meta" in R Foundation for Statistical Computing was used to calculate an overall proportion in a random-effects model with 95% confidence intervals. Subgroup analysis was conducted to analyze the influencing factors on the depression prevalence. Any conflict in the data analysis was discussed by all the reviewers. A total of 113 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The overall prevalence of depression among Chinese university students was shown to be 28.4% (n = 185,787), with 95%CI from 25.7 to 31.2%. The overall depression prevalence among Chinese university students was still relatively high. More efforts need to be done to provide better mental healthcare to university students in China.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of the selection process.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Depression prevalence categorized by different screening methods and cutoff scores.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Subgroup analysis of the modified Newcastle–Ottawa Scale.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Subgroup analysis of 5-year interval.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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