Factors associated with mental distress among undergraduate students in northern Tanzania

BMC Psychiatry

Table 3 Symptoms of mental distress (N = 402)

Symptoms of mental distress^a	Frequency^b	Percentage^b
Often have headache	106	26.4
Poor appetite	61	15.2
Lack of sleep	64	15.9
Easily frightened	61	15.2
Uncontrollable hand shaking	37	9.2
Feeling nervous	67	16.7
Poor digestion	49	12.2
Trouble on thinking	40	10
Feeling unhappy	69	17.2
Crying more than usual	23	5.7
Difficult to enjoy daily activities	57	14.2
Daily work suffering	41	10.2
Unable to play a useful part in life	43	10.7
Lost interest in things	92	22.9
Feeling of worthlessness	38	9.5
Thought of ending life	43	10.7
Feeling tired all the time	50	12.4
Uncomfortable feeling in the stomach	71	17.7
Difficult to make decisions	59	14.7
Easily tired	66	16.4
Mental distress
Yes	56	13.9
No	346	86.1

^aSymptoms based on self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ-20) originally developed by WHO. ^bFrequency and percentage among those who answered “Yes”

ISSN: 1471-244X