Abstract
University students are exposed to many stressors. We assessed the associations between two stressors (educational related and general overall), socio-demographic characteristics (five variables), health behaviours/lifestyle factors (six variables), as well as religiosity and quality of life as independent variables, with self-reported symptoms/health complaints as dependent variables (eight health complaints). A sample of 2100 undergraduate students from nine institutions (six universities, three colleges) located in seven cities in Libya completed a general health questionnaire. The most prevalent symptoms were headaches, depressive mood, difficulties to concentrate and sleep disorder/insomnia that have been reported by 50%–60% of the students. The majority of students (62%) reported having had three or more symptoms sometimes or very often in the last 12 months. There was a positive association between perceived stressors and health symptoms, which remained significant after adjustment for gender and many other relevant factors for headache (OR 1.52; 95% CI 1.15–2.02), depressive mood (OR 2.20; 95% CI 1.64–2.94) and sleep disorder/ insomnia (OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.19–2.03). Other factors independently associated with most health symptoms were female gender and poor self-perceived health. Stress management programmes and a reduction of educational related stressors might help to prevent stress-related symptoms and health complaints in this student population.
Highlights
There is an increased focus on the health and well-being of students at higher education institutions, and calls that is “time for urgent action” for the health of these young adults [1]
We examined the associations between the health complaints and students’ socio-demographics and health behaviours/lifestyle features, as well as religiosity and quality of life
We scrutinized the associations between the health complaints and students’ demographic characteristics and health behaviours, as well as the associations between each symptom and stressors adjusting for a number of other relevant factors
Summary
There is an increased focus on the health and well-being of students at higher education institutions, and calls that is “time for urgent action” for the health of these young adults [1]. Educators are concerned about the sources of stress (stressors or burdens) amongst university students [2,3]. Achievement, performance, enhanced productivity and reward [5], their negative effects include self-reported symptoms, health complaints, psycho-somatic symptoms, or health strains. Such symptoms and complaints might be categorized into four groups: physical features (back pains, neck/ shoulder pains, headaches); gastrointestinal symptoms (stomach trouble/heartburn); psychological, psychiatric and mental health issues (depression, sleep disturbances, difficulties to concentrate); and circulatory complaints (rapid heartbeats, circulatory problems, dizziness) as manifestations of or associated with a range of stressors [2,6]. Perceived stressors related to studying were positively associated with higher depression among students from Germany, Poland and Bulgaria, by mediation via perceived stress and directly [8]
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