Varsity students with chronic illnesses susceptible to depression: UoH Study

Hyderabad: Students suffering from chronic illnesses have a lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and such students are at greater risk of depression, according to a study conducted by students of the University of Hyderabad,

The study, titled ‘Role of Chronic illness in Health-related Quality of Life among University Students’ was conducted by Teisovinuo Semou, Oindrila Mukherjee, Laxmi Priyanka Nakka and Suma Lavanya Mutnury of the Centre for Health Psychology at the university. It was recently published in the Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology.

The study surveyed 120 UoH students, 44 men and 76 women, Their average age was 24.07 years

Teisovinuo Semou told Deccan Chronicle that university students, as a whole, had a badly perceived health quality of life, specifically in the domains of role limitations due to physical health and the domain of emotional problems. The results can be applied to all central universities across the country, he said.

The study highlighted the need for universities and policymakers to provide more support for students with chronic illnesses. “Students with chronic illnesses often face challenges that can make it difficult to succeed. These challenges can include physical limitations, increased stress, financial burden, strained relationships, and impact on academic performance.,” said Semou.

Meena Hariharan, founder-director, Centre for Health Psychology, said that a significant proportion of university students suffer from chronic illnesses, but this normally does not come to the notice of teachers. As a result, when students sometimes fail to meet expectations, either due to illness-related factors or concomitant depression, the pressure experienced by the students is high.

“There is a need to screen students for chronic illness, crucial psychological parameters and their quality of life. This can be easily done if the universities enter a MoU with a hospital that conducts annual screening that includes chronic illness and essential psychological parameters,” she said.

Objectives

• Assess prevalence of chronic illness in university students
• Examine difference in health-related quality of life (HRQoL), depression of university students with respect to their chronic illness status
• Examine the impact of HRQoL on depression

Finding

• Student population, as a whole, had a badly perceived HRQoL