TY - JOUR
T1 - Mental health conditions and academic burnout among medical and non-medical undergraduates during the mitigation of COVID-19 pandemic in China
AU - Yang, Qian
AU - Liu, Yueheng
AU - Yang, Winson Fuzun
AU - Peng, Pu
AU - Chen, Shubao
AU - Wang, Yunfei
AU - Wang, Xin
AU - Li, Manyun
AU - Wang, Yingying
AU - Hao, Yuzhu
AU - He, Li
AU - Wang, Qianjin
AU - Zhang, Junhong
AU - Ma, Yuejiao
AU - He, Haoyu
AU - Zhou, Yanan
AU - Long, Jiang
AU - Qi, Chang
AU - Tang, Yi Yuan
AU - Liao, Yanhui
AU - Tang, Jinsong
AU - Wu, Qiuxia
AU - Liu, Tieqiao
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Provincial Natural Science Foundation of Hunan (grant no. 2020JJ4795 to TQ Liu).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/8
Y1 - 2022/8
N2 - The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posed a great impact on people’s mental health, especially for undergraduate students. This study aimed to compare the mental health conditions and academic burnout between medical and non-medical undergraduates in China when the COVID-19 pandemic is mitigating. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 4,972 undergraduates between October 2020 and April 2021, when the pandemic was basically under control. The survey included basic demographics information and standardized scales to evaluate depression, anxiety, perceived stress, daytime sleepiness, alcohol abuse/dependence, quality of life, fatigue, and academic burnout. Compared with medical undergraduates, non-medical undergraduates had higher rates of moderate to severe depression symptoms (29.1% vs. 17.9%, P < 0.001), moderate to severe anxiety symptoms (19.7% vs. 8.9%, P < 0.001), alcohol abuse/dependence (16.3% vs.10.3%, P < 0.001), excessive daytime sleepiness (47.4% vs. 43.4%, P = 0.018), high perceived stress (34.7% vs. 22.2%, P < 0.001), high level of fatigue (51.8% vs. 42.2%, P < 0.001), low QOL (35.8% vs. 21.4%, P < 0.001), and higher academic burnout score (59.4 vs. 57.5, P < 0.001). Being non-medical undergraduates, depression, alcohol abuse/dependence, excessive daytime sleepiness, and high perceived stress were positively associated with academic burnout, while high QOL was negatively associated with the burnout (all P < 0.001). Excessive daytime sleepiness was the strongest predictor for academic burnout.
AB - The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posed a great impact on people’s mental health, especially for undergraduate students. This study aimed to compare the mental health conditions and academic burnout between medical and non-medical undergraduates in China when the COVID-19 pandemic is mitigating. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 4,972 undergraduates between October 2020 and April 2021, when the pandemic was basically under control. The survey included basic demographics information and standardized scales to evaluate depression, anxiety, perceived stress, daytime sleepiness, alcohol abuse/dependence, quality of life, fatigue, and academic burnout. Compared with medical undergraduates, non-medical undergraduates had higher rates of moderate to severe depression symptoms (29.1% vs. 17.9%, P < 0.001), moderate to severe anxiety symptoms (19.7% vs. 8.9%, P < 0.001), alcohol abuse/dependence (16.3% vs.10.3%, P < 0.001), excessive daytime sleepiness (47.4% vs. 43.4%, P = 0.018), high perceived stress (34.7% vs. 22.2%, P < 0.001), high level of fatigue (51.8% vs. 42.2%, P < 0.001), low QOL (35.8% vs. 21.4%, P < 0.001), and higher academic burnout score (59.4 vs. 57.5, P < 0.001). Being non-medical undergraduates, depression, alcohol abuse/dependence, excessive daytime sleepiness, and high perceived stress were positively associated with academic burnout, while high QOL was negatively associated with the burnout (all P < 0.001). Excessive daytime sleepiness was the strongest predictor for academic burnout.
KW - Academic burnout
KW - COVID-19 pandemic
KW - Mental health conditions
KW - Undergraduate students
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U2 - 10.1007/s11356-022-19932-2
DO - 10.1007/s11356-022-19932-2
M3 - Article
C2 - 35357650
AN - SCOPUS:85127496355
SN - 0944-1344
JO - Environmental Science and Pollution Research
JF - Environmental Science and Pollution Research
ER -