Correlation between psychological stress and depressive symptoms among Japanese university students: a cross-sectional analysis.
Ryota Ashizawa, Katsumi Hamaoka, Hiroya Honda and 1 others
PMID 39354932WHAT IT FOUND
Among Japanese university students, higher reported psychological stress was associated with more depressive symptoms.
The link remained after accounting for several factors, but the study cannot show stress caused depression.
Key findings
01Psychological stress was independently associated with depressive symptoms after accounting for several other factors.
02Insomnia was independently associated with depressive symptoms.
03Eighty-eight of 145 participants were classified as having depressive symptoms.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that psychological stress caused depressive symptoms. Participants were students from one university in Japan, so the results may not apply to other groups. The sample was small, and the logistic regression could not include all factors that might affect depressive symptoms. Many measures were self-reported, so subjective bias could affect the results. The odds ratio for psychological stress was low and should be interpreted with caution.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest and stated that the research did not receive a specific grant from public, commercial, or not-for-profit funding agencies.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that physical therapy reduces stress or depression. No physical therapy intervention was tested. Do not read the association as proof that psychological stress caused depressive symptoms.