Trends in incidence of self-harm, neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions among university students compared with the general population: nationwide electronic data linkage study in Wales.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Concern that self-harm and mental health conditions are increasing in university students may reflect widening access to higher education, existing population trends and/or stressors associated with this setting.

Aims

To compare population-level data on self-harm, neurodevelopmental and mental health conditions between university students and non-students with similar characteristics before and during enrolment.

Method

This cohort study linked electronic records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency for 2012-2018 to primary and secondary healthcare records. Students were undergraduates aged 18 to 24 years at university entry. Non-students were pseudo-randomly selected based on an equivalent age distribution. Logistic regressions were used to calculate

SUBMITTER: John A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11536190 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature