Can a sore throat or the sniffles predict depression in college
kids? According to new Northwestern Medicine research,
there’s a good chance a minor cold could be hiding something
deeper and possibly deadlier in today’s young adults.
Michael Fleming, professor of family and community medicine at
Northwestern
University Feinberg School of Medicine, surveyed 1,622 college
students at University of Wisconsin, the University of
Washington, and the University of British Columbia and found one out of
every four or five students who visits a university health center
for a routine sore throat or common cold turns out to be
depressed.
The study also found about 2 to 3 percent of these depressed
students have had suicidal thoughts or are considering
suicide.
"Depression screening is easy to do, we know it works, and it can save lives," said Fleming. "It should be done for every student who walks into a health center."
Universities typically separate mental health treatment from primary care treatment. If a student comes to a campus health center and complains about depression, he or she is referred to a counseling center.
"But students don't necessarily get there unless they are pretty depressed," Fleming said.
And by then, it could be too late.
Fleming points to new technology that could make catching depression in students early on even easier for campus health care providers.
Students could answer seven questions about their current mental state while waiting to see the doctor -- a task Fleming says could be done in a minute.
The answers could then be entered into the student’s electronic health record and a doctor or nurse could address the student’s sadness or depression immediately.
Fleming urges screening at every clinic visit for every student.
"Things continually happen to students -- a low grade or problems with a boyfriend or girlfriend -- that can trigger depression," Fleming said. "If you don't take the opportunity to screen at every visit, you are going to miss these kids."
The consequences of not finding and treating depressed students can be can be serious and even deadly.
"These kids might drop out of school because they are so sad or hurt or kill themselves by drinking too much or taking drugs," said Fleming.
Historical perceptions and biases against preventive screenings are that kids who need treatment the most don't go to campus health centers, and they won't tell the truth about their depression.
But Fleming says those biases are wrong.
"Students will tell you the truth. If they are sad and depressed, they will tell you that. And, kids who are drinking too much or who are suicidal do go to the campus health centers."
Fleming’s study is the first to screen for depression in a large population of students who are coming to campus health centers for routine care. Prior depression studies have been conducted by surveying general college samples or students in counseling centers.
The frequency of depression and suicidal thoughts among campus health clinic users was nearly twice as high as rates reported in general college samples.
Depressed students need treatment, which may include counseling and medication. These students are more likely to drink, smoke and be involved in intimate partner violence, the study found.
The study also revealed some students may be preventing depression in themselves and not even know it. Fleming said students who exercise frequently are not as likely to be depressed.
"That's the one thing that seemed to be protective," he said.
Fleming, who joined Feinberg in the fall of 2010, is lead author of a paper on the findings in the January issue of the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. He conducted the research when he was a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin.
