SynthesisBMJ open2025
Prevalence of depression or depressive symptoms among engineering students: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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Abstract
objectivesTo assess the prevalence of depression or depressive symptoms among engineering students.
designSystematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence surveys using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Index Medicus Global, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus and PsycINFO were searched from 1 January 2003 to 28 June 2024. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Studies were included if they: (1) reported the prevalence of depression or depressive symptoms among engineering students, (2) used a validated instrument with defined cut-off points to assess depression or depressive symptoms and (3) were published in a peer-reviewed journal. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Two researchers independently extracted data using a standardised spreadsheet, collecting information on country of data collection, survey years, year of training, sample size, mean age of participants, number and percentage of male participants, assessment instrument, cut-off points and prevalence estimates. Discrepancies were resolved by a third researcher. Risk of bias was assessed with the Risk of Bias for Studies of the Prevalence of Mental Health Disorders tool. Prevalence estimates were synthesised using random-effects meta-analysis. Between-study heterogeneity was assessed with χ² tests and the I² statistic. Subgroup analyses were conducted according to severity cut-off points, and meta-regression was used to explore the influence of study-level characteristics on prevalence estimates.
results23 studies involving 12 758 students across 11 countries were analysed. All studies used validated scales with cut-off points to assess depression or depressive symptoms. The overall pooled prevalence was 42.6% (95% CI 32.7 to 53.1) for studies using symptom severity cut-off points at mild or above, and 33.1% (95% CI 25.2 to 42.0) for studies using symptom severity cut-off points at moderate or above. Meta-regression indicated a progressive annual increase in prevalence (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.28, p=0.034) across studies conducted from 2014 to 2024.
conclusionsPrevalence of depression and depressive symptoms is high among engineering students, at levels comparable to medical students. Given the substantial impact, further research should investigate risk factors and evaluate preventive, early detection and treatment strategies tailored to engineering students. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42024571131.
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