The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) scores and the lifestyles of nursing students.
BACKGROUND
The objective of this investigation was to examine depression in, and the lifestyles of, 260 college students of a nursing school in nonclinical settings.


METHODS
The principal measure of depressive symptoms was the 9-item depression module from the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Additional questions were focused on current stress levels and sleeping, eating, and exercising habits.


RESULTS
One hundred and fifty-two college students finally participated. Overall, the average PHQ-9 score was 7.7 +/- 5.1 (SD). The students with PHQ-9 scores of 15 or higher were 9.2%. The average PHQ-9 scores in the 1st school year were significantly higher than those of the 4th school year. The students feeling stressed had significantly higher PHQ-9 scores than those that felt no stress. PHQ-9 scores in the students who had unsatisfactory sleeping habits were significantly higher than those in the students who felt they had satisfactory sleep. The students who slept less than 5 hours and more than 8 hours had significantly higher PHQ-9 scores than those who slept 6-7 hours. PHQ-9 scores in the students who never ate breakfast were higher than those who ate breakfast everyday. Moreover, the students who never ate 3 meals daily had higher PHQ-9 scores than those who did.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that there is a strong relationship between the severity of depressive symptoms and the lifestyles of college students. This underscores the need to provide effective mental health outreach and treatment, including lifestyle modification, at an early stage in college life.
Urasaki
Midori
M
Nursing Course and Division of Community Medicine, Department of Community Nursing, Kochi Medical School, Nankoku 783-8505, Japan.
Oshima
Nozomi
N
Okabayashi
Ayako
A
Sadatsune
Mai
M
Shibuya
Aki
A
Nishiura
Akina
A
Takao
Toshihiro
T
D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult