title: [The level of distress as an indicator of mental health of university students].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Data concerning the mental health of students in Poland are relatively scarce and do not reflect the real scale of the problem. Health in the general meaning is a fundamental issue for every person, especially for the youth who spend most of the time on studying. One of the important factors determining mental health of students is lifestyle; some of its aspects are implicated in health habits. The system of studies carries along with it many dangers in the form of stress related with the university itself, exams, many opportunities, and temptations being a threat to mental health. The aim of this work was to assess the mental health of university students measured with the level of distress and its association with sociodemographic factors and lifestyle.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 300 students participated, including 150 students of medicine and 150 students of education from the western part of Poland. A shortened version of the Goldberg Depression Questionnaire--General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and a self-designed questionnaire for collecting information about sociodemographic factors were used. Data were analyzed with the Statistica 8 software package. The level of significance for all analyses was p < 0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Statistically significant differences in the level of distress were observed between genders. Higher levels of distress were noticed in 57% of females and 41% of males. The highest level of distress was found in female students of medicine (mean = 4.23) and the lowest in male students of education (mean = 2.02). There were correlations between distress and lifestyle.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings corroborate the alarming reports about the deteriorating mental condition of Polish university students. Increased levels of distress were observed half of the students.
authors.affiliation: Wydział Pedagogiki Wyzszej Szkoły Pedagogiki i Administracji im. Mieszka I w Poznaniu ul. Bulgarska 55, 60-320 Poznań.
authors.forename: Sylwia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baran
authors.forename: Iwona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Teul
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lorkowski
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult