Health status among French, Polish and Romanian students

Research question. Students face many school and living difficulties which alter health status and favour substance use which were assessed in this study among university students from France, Poland and Romania. Methods. In total 934 French, 480 Polish, and 195 Romanian students from the Universities of Metz, Iaşi, and Silésie, completed a self-administred questionnaire. The data were analyzed using adjusted odds ratios (OR) and variance analysis taking age and sex into account, vs. French. Results. Mean age 20 (SD = 2) years. Female represented 58% French and 80% Polish/Romanian. Although most students were satisfied with their university integration (81-97%), many students had deteriorated heath status compared with the period before the university (13-22%), suffered from tiredness (11-85%), nervousness (42-56%), sleep disorders (19-48%), financial difficulty (15-39%), and being alone (8-23%). Were also common increasing tobacco use (15-32%), alcohol use every day (15-40%), tranquilizer pill use (1-6%), hashish/marijuana use (2-42%), suicide thinking (15-19%), and frequent consultation of health professionals (7-30%). Bad heath status was more frequent among French and Romanian overall, and suicide thinking among Polish. Higher PSS-14 and GHQ-12 scores among Polish compared with their French counterparts who used more hashish/marijuana. Satisfied social support was similar between the three groups. Conclusion. A better guidance for those who are in need of adapted mental health care seem nevertheless recommended to support them through their university success.