Mental health of college students: Five-year experience of the university psychiatric outpatient clinic of São João hospital centre

Introduction The clinic of psychiatry and mental health of Sao Joao hospital centre (Oporto, Portugal) has implemented a psychiatric consultation to support college students since 2007. This consultation is open to all of the universities in the metropolitan area of Oporto. Aims/objectives This specific consultation aims to detect and intervene early in the treatment of psychiatric illness and to promote mental health in this specific population. Methods Retrospective study conducted in the Sao Joao hospital centre, Oporto, Portugal. Patients attending university studentu0027s specific consultation between January 1st 2011 and March 31st 2016 were included. Data collection included sociodemographic variables, clinical diagnosis (ICD-10, WHO, 1992) and psychological scales (WAIS-III, BSI, HADS, SF-36 and NEO-PI-R). SPSS ® software (v. 20.0, 2011) was used for statistical analysis. Results In this study, 139 patients were included (66.2% female, medium age 23.1 years old). The majority of patients were medical, engineering or nursing students (respectively 20.9%, 18.0% and 17.9%). The most frequent diagnosis was adjustment disorders, anxiety disorders, mood disorders and personality disorders. 54.6% completed all the psychological scales. Conclusions The number of students with mental health issues is increasing. Early detection and treatment of these pathologies may allow improvements on the educational, economic and social levels, as well as in the quality of life.