Mental health in Singapore university students: the prevalence of mental disorders and its relationship with Traditional Chinese Medicine

Abstract

The prevalence of psychiatric disorders are increasing globally, and it has become a serious health concern. University students are a particularly vulnerable group to mental disorders, however, help-seeking behaviour is low due to the stigma prescribed with these disorders. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been an increasingly accepted Complementary and Alternate Medicine (CAM) method that has shown effectiveness in the treatment of mental disorders (MD). The study sought to summarise current evidence on TCM’s perspective on MD and shed light on the relationship between liver Qi stagnation (LQS) and heart-spleen deficiency (HSD) with its western medicine MD counterparts. This study focuses on the patterns of TCM symptoms and MD symptoms in Singaporean university students. An online questionnaire collecting information on the demographic of the sample, DSM-5 level 1 self-rated cross cutting symptom measure, and TCM symptom experience was given to university students in Singapore. Depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms, repetitive thoughts and behaviours, dissociation, and personality function were found to have a statistically significant relationship with TCM symptoms. However, mania only had a statistically significant relationship with TCM symptoms in the male sample. Overall, TCM symptoms and diagnosis patterns of LQS and HSD may be good predictors of western medicine MD.