Sustainable UNiversity Life (SUN) Study

NCT04465435 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: FORTE2018-00402
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 4,262
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

In 2017, Socialstyrelsen reported that mental ill-health in young adults had increased by almost 70% in the previous10 years. A 2014 report showed that 5% of men and 11% of women 18-24 years were diagnosed with depression or anxiety in Stockholm County. Furthermore, 41% of women 21-24 years have self reported psychological distress. Regarding pain, 28% of men and 36% of women 16-24 years have disabling neck pain. Little is known about the etiology and prognosis of poor mental health in university students. The aim is to advance knowledge about the etiology of depression, anxiety, stress and pain in undergraduate university students. The investigators will study a cohort of students at full-year programs at universities in the Stockholm area. Primary research questions are whether modifiable factors such as sleep quality, lifestyle, screen time and work environment are independent risk factors for incident episodes or unfavorable trajectories of depression, anxiety and pain in men and women? To be able to answer these research questions we designed a prospective cohort study targeting 5000 university students.

Conditions

Mental Health Issue; Musculoskeletal Pain

Keywords

Cohort study; Depression; Anxiety; Stress; Pain; Lifestyle; Students; Risk Factors; Prognostic factors

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Musculoskeletal pain

  Repeated measures with web-based questionnaires, 5 times (every 3 months), over one year. Outcome measures: Musculoskeletal pain will be measured with the The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ). The NMQ measure musculoskeletal symptoms, and pain intensity in nine body areas: neck, shoulder, elbow, wrists/hands, upper back, lower back, hips/thighs/buttocks, knees, ankle/feet. The questions were modified to assess previous month rather than the previous 12 months as per the original NMQ. No symptoms = a pain score of 0, while the participants who report musculoskeletal symptoms also report average pain intensity over the last month, on a scale from 0 (no complaints), to 9 (pain 'worst possible'). Weekly text messages measure levels of pain.

  2019-2022

• Mental health problems

  Repeated measures with web-based questionnaires, 5 times (every 3 months), over one year. Outcome measures: Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21(DASS-21). DASS-21 includes three subscales (range 0-3, score 0-63, higher scores = more symptoms) to measure depression, anxiety and stress symptoms in nonclinical populations. Weekly text messages measure levels anxiety and depression.

  2019-2022

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Pain related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

  2019-2020

• Mental health problems related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

  2019-2020

Study Arms (1)

SUN-participants

University students enrolled in a selected university in Stockholm, studying on a full-time educational program with at least one academic year left before graduation. There is no intervention. The exposures are repeated measures, 5 times (every three months), using web-based self-report questionnaires during one academic year. Also weekley SMS are used to measure depression, anxiety and pain intensity.

Other: Web-based self-report questionnaires; Other: Focus Group Interviews

Interventions

Web-based self-report questionnaires OTHER

Web-based self-report questionnaires based on well established instruments.

SUN-participants

Focus Group Interviews OTHER

Group conversation with open-ended questions with 7-10 students/group on topics relevant to the aim of the study.

SUN-participants

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Gender Eligibility Details: All students invited to participate in the study answer the question about gender identity - female, male or other. All analyses with regard to gender in the study are based on self-representation based on these three categories.
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

University students attending selected universities in Stockholm, Sweden. A number of universities are included representing different educational programs such as medicine and life sciences, business, social sciences and technology. There is a majority of student from medical. and life science educational programs. The aim is to include a total of 5000 students.

You may qualify if:

• Students at selected universities/colleges in the Stockholm area attending selected educational programs with at least one remaining academic year before graduating. Students from matriculation to master level studies are invited to participate. Participants need to be 18 years of age or older, have access to a smart phone, laptop or tablet and speak sufficient Swedish or English.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Sophiahemmet University: lead
• Karolinska Institutet: collaborator
• Forte: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Sophiahemmet University

Stockholm, SE, 11486, Sweden

Location

Related Publications (3)

• Edlund K, Sundberg T, Johansson F, Onell C, Rudman A, Holm LW, Grotle M, Jensen I, Cote P, Skillgate E. Sustainable UNiversity Life (SUN) study: protocol for a prospective cohort study of modifiable risk and prognostic factors for mental health problems and musculoskeletal pain among university students. BMJ Open. 2022 Apr 4;12(4):e056489. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056489.

  PMID: 35379630 BACKGROUND

• Larsson K, Onell C, Edlund K, Kallberg H, Holm LW, Sundberg T, Skillgate E. Lifestyle behaviors in Swedish university students before and during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic: a cohort study. BMC Public Health. 2022 Jun 16;22(1):1207. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13553-7.

  PMID: 35710368 DERIVED

• Edlund K, Johansson F, Lindroth R, Bergman L, Sundberg T, Skillgate E. Body image and compulsive exercise: are there associations with depression among university students? Eat Weight Disord. 2022 Oct;27(7):2397-2405. doi: 10.1007/s40519-022-01374-x. Epub 2022 Feb 18.

  PMID: 35179726 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Musculoskeletal Pain; Depression; Anxiety Disorders; Pain

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Muscular Diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Eva Skillgate, Professor, Ph.D.

  Sophiahemmet

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 17, 2020
• First Posted: July 10, 2020
• Study Start: August 19, 2019
• Primary Completion: December 15, 2021
• Study Completion (Estimated): January 31, 2032
• Last Updated: April 30, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-04

Locations

SE (1)