{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]],"date-time":"2026-07-20T06:03:35Z","timestamp":1784527415111,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]],"date-time":"2026-07-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784505600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>University students, particularly those in healthcare-related fields, face substantial mental health challenges exacerbated by the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Despite the recognized importance of mental health in mitigating psychological distress, research assessing mental health related depression and anxiety among these healthcare-related students remains limited.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A cross-sectional study was conducted between April and May 2023 at a medical university in Shandong Province, China. A total of 10,267 students completed the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), 12,950 completed the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and 12,735 completed the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics,\n                      <jats:italic>t<\/jats:italic>\n                      -tests, ANOVA, and logistic regression to assess the prevalence and risk factors for depression and anxiety.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Among 12,950 medical university students, 67.49% were asymptomatic for depression, while 15.89, 16.10, and 0.52% exhibited mild, moderate, and severe depressive symptoms, respectively. Anxiety assessment of 12,735 students showed 89.93% were asymptomatic, with mild, moderate, and severe anxiety present in 8.04, 1.56, and 0.46%. SDS scores differed significantly across academic grades (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt; 0.001) but not by gender, whereas females had slightly higher SAS scores than males (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 0.015). The prevalence of depression and anxiety varied significantly across academic departments (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt; 0.001). Multivariable analysis identified academic grade as an independent predictor of both depression and anxiety severity, with department and gender additionally associated with moderate depression.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Healthcare related students demonstrate moderate levels of psychological distress, with distinct demographic and academic patterns. Targeted interventions are urgently needed, particularly for younger students and those in high-stress majors. Enhancing mental health could play a crucial role in mitigating the burden of depression and anxiety in this vulnerable population.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1801247","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]],"date-time":"2026-07-20T05:34:32Z","timestamp":1784525672000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Mental health and psychological distress in healthcare-related students post-pandemic: a cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Rui","family":"Guo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Pediatric Teaching and Research Office, Heze Medical College","place":["Heze, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhiyong","family":"Yuan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Heze Medical College","place":["Heze, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wei","family":"Yan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Genetics Teaching and Research Office, Xuzhou Medical University","place":["Xuzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhenjiang","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Heze Medical College","place":["Heze, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rong","family":"Rong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Heze Medical College","place":["Heze, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yusheng","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Heze Medical College","place":["Heze, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yiran","family":"ZhouGuo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medical Technology, Xuzhou Medical University","place":["Xuzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mannan","family":"Abdul","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Foreign Languages Department, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou","place":["Jiangsu, China"]},{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology, EENT Hospital of Fudan University","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yan","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Heze Medical College","place":["Heze, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Guoqing","family":"Feng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jining Hospital, Xiyuan Hospital","place":["Jining, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ziyang","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Heze Medical College","place":["Heze, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qing","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University","place":["Xuzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yanan","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Xuzhou Yiyang Education Consulting Company Limited, Xuzhou","place":["Jiangsu, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e097745","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2024-097745","article-title":"Factors influencing mental health outcomes among university students: a cross-sectional study in Bangladesh.","volume":"15","author":"Al-Amin","year":"2025","journal-title":"BMJ Open"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1603526","DOI":"10.1080\/10872981.2019.1603526","article-title":"Medical students\u2019 perceptions of stress due to academic studies and its interrelationships with other domains of life: a qualitative study.","volume":"24","author":"Bergmann","year":"2019","journal-title":"Med. 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