Psychological distress, sanitary measures and health status in student’s university

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020. It has affected millions of people and represents an unprecedented threat not only to health, but also to the economy and educational processes. In the confinement, one of the vulnerable groups is that of students of various academic degrees. The objective was to describe the manifestations of psychological discomfort and health derived from the confinement measures in students of a private university in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. A secondary objective, due to the inclusion criteria, was to evaluate the differences between undergraduate and graduate students, as well as the associated factors in social coexistence, vulnerable groups and health measures.   Method: The participants were 641 students who were administered an online survey with a response rate of 77.6%. The participants were 63.1% women and 36.9% men. A total of 60.8% were undergraduate students and 39.2% graduate students. The mean age was 25.3 years. The instrument of measurement consists of 24 items, integrating Kessler's K-6 scale, with 6 specific questions on psychological distress referring to symptoms of anxiety and depression in the last month. Four questions on health aspects regarding COVID-19, 8 on healthy distance measures, and 6 on coexistence and habits at home were included. An odds ratio analysis was performed to identify the associated risk of health and coexistence with respect to psychological distress. At each stage, the ethical principles for the research were complied with and the dignity of the participants was respected, as well as the lawful treatment of personal information based on the principles of the current regulatory framework.   Results: The 92.6% lived in confinement with family, and the remainder alone or with friends. The 96.2% indicated not having symptoms of COVID. The 44.7% did not have a daily routine, 27.4% went out daily in confinement and 48.3% presented moderate to high and very high levels of psychological distress. A higher risk of presenting psychological distress was identified in women, postgraduate students, belonging to the health and humanities areas, presenting obesity and concern about being infected, not following sanitary measures and presenting any physical discomfort (ORs ranging from 2.05 to 7.02).   Discussion and conclusion: As in other populations, the monitoring of confinement measures is not uniform and there is a high proportion of psychological distress in undergraduate and graduate students. It is suggested to serve the population with higher risk with a comprehensive care model that incorporates the educational process, social coexistence and emotional management.