392 OCCupational medicine doi:10.1093/occmed/kqu066
Mental health issues and university student dropouts Dear Sir,
Tomoyuki Kawada Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Nippon Medical School,1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-Ku,Tokyo 113-8602, Japan e-mail: [email protected]
References 1. Tamin SK. Relevance of mental health issues in university student dropouts. Occup Med (Lond) 2013;63:410–414. 2. Storrie K, Ahern K, Tuckett A. A systematic review: students with mental health problems—a growing problem. Int J Nurs Pract 2010;16:1–6. 3. Eisenberg D, Hunt J, Speer N. Mental health in American colleges and universities: variation across student subgroups and across campuses. J Nerv Ment Dis 2013;201:60–67. 4. O’Neill LD, Wallstedt B, Eika B, Hartvigsen J. Factors associated with dropout in medical education: a literature review. Med Educ 2011;45:440–454. 5. Zivin K, Eisenberg D, Gollust SE, Golberstein E. Persistence of mental health problems and needs in a college student population. J Affect Disord 2009;117:180–185.
Agreement for this letter to be published without response has been given on behalf of the author of the paper in question.
Downloaded from http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/ at UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND LIBRARY on July 15, 2015
Dr Tamin reported the association between mental health issues and university student dropouts based on a retrospective study [1]. The problem of ‘university student dropouts’ has been recognized before and descriptive epidemiology is needed to consider prevention strategies. A systematic review of emotional and mental health problems affecting university students worldwide has been reported [2], which recommends that a support system is required to resolve the problem. Mental health problems were significantly associated with sex, race, ethnicity, religion and economic status [3], while the effects of socioeconomic, psychological and educational variables on the student dropout rate, examined using causal models, were limited [4]. With regards to Dr Tamin’s study, the local data and their applicability to other populations should be carefully considered. The author concluded that the contribution of mental health issues on university student dropouts was relatively small although the study design was limited to checking the relationship between mental health issues and university student dropouts. The specialities of the target students were limited to medical professionals; therefore, factors uniquely associated with this speciality that may exert an influence on dropping out should be included in the analysis. In addition, the interval between the occurrence of mental health issues and the time of dropping out is another important factor.
Mental disorders are prevalent and persistent in student populations; however, the majority of students with mental disorders do not receive adequate treatment according to a 2-year follow-up study [5]. Taking this into account, further analysis is recommended to understand the association and its causality.
Mental health issues and university student dropouts Dear Sir,
Tomoyuki Kawada Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Nippon Medical School,1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-Ku,Tokyo 113-8602, Japan e-mail: [email protected]
References 1. Tamin SK. Relevance of mental health issues in university student dropouts. Occup Med (Lond) 2013;63:410–414. 2. Storrie K, Ahern K, Tuckett A. A systematic review: students with mental health problems—a growing problem. Int J Nurs Pract 2010;16:1–6. 3. Eisenberg D, Hunt J, Speer N. Mental health in American colleges and universities: variation across student subgroups and across campuses. J Nerv Ment Dis 2013;201:60–67. 4. O’Neill LD, Wallstedt B, Eika B, Hartvigsen J. Factors associated with dropout in medical education: a literature review. Med Educ 2011;45:440–454. 5. Zivin K, Eisenberg D, Gollust SE, Golberstein E. Persistence of mental health problems and needs in a college student population. J Affect Disord 2009;117:180–185.
Agreement for this letter to be published without response has been given on behalf of the author of the paper in question.
Downloaded from http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/ at UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND LIBRARY on July 15, 2015
Dr Tamin reported the association between mental health issues and university student dropouts based on a retrospective study [1]. The problem of ‘university student dropouts’ has been recognized before and descriptive epidemiology is needed to consider prevention strategies. A systematic review of emotional and mental health problems affecting university students worldwide has been reported [2], which recommends that a support system is required to resolve the problem. Mental health problems were significantly associated with sex, race, ethnicity, religion and economic status [3], while the effects of socioeconomic, psychological and educational variables on the student dropout rate, examined using causal models, were limited [4]. With regards to Dr Tamin’s study, the local data and their applicability to other populations should be carefully considered. The author concluded that the contribution of mental health issues on university student dropouts was relatively small although the study design was limited to checking the relationship between mental health issues and university student dropouts. The specialities of the target students were limited to medical professionals; therefore, factors uniquely associated with this speciality that may exert an influence on dropping out should be included in the analysis. In addition, the interval between the occurrence of mental health issues and the time of dropping out is another important factor.
Mental disorders are prevalent and persistent in student populations; however, the majority of students with mental disorders do not receive adequate treatment according to a 2-year follow-up study [5]. Taking this into account, further analysis is recommended to understand the association and its causality.
