A high prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress was identified among students following the conclusion of the COVID-19 pandemic, with poorer sleep quality contributing to increased mental health symptoms and intense physical activity reducing them.
The overall prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms among Croatian university students after the COVID-19 pandemic was high.
Female students exhibited significantly higher scores of depression, anxiety, and stress compared to their male counterparts.
Poorer sleep quality was significantly associated with increased depression, anxiety, and stress scores among students.
Intense physical activity was significantly associated with reduced depression, anxiety, and stress scores among students.
Sleep quality and physical activity were identified as potential target points for interventions to optimize students' mental health.
This research suggests that Croatian university students experienced very high rates of depression, anxiety, and stress in the period after the COVID-19 pandemic. More than half of the 673 students surveyed showed signs of anxiety (58.8%), nearly half showed signs of depression (45.0%), and about 40% showed signs of stress. Female students consistently reported worse mental health outcomes than male students across all three measures. These findings point to a substantial mental health burden in the student population that may have persisted or worsened in the aftermath of the pandemic. This research also suggests that sleep quality and physical activity are meaningfully linked to students' mental health. Students who slept poorly were more likely to report higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. On the other hand, students who engaged in intense physical activity reported lower levels of all three mental health symptoms. These associations held up in statistical analyses that accounted for multiple factors simultaneously. The practical implication of these findings is that universities and public health officials looking to support student mental health might consider programs that promote better sleep habits and higher levels of vigorous physical activity. Because this was a cross-sectional study — meaning it captured a single snapshot in time rather than following students over a period — it cannot definitively prove that poor sleep causes worse mental health or that exercise directly improves it, but the consistent associations across all mental health measures suggest these are worthwhile areas for further investigation and potential intervention.
Vidović S, Drenjančević I, Kolar M, Dabić G, Oršolić M, Degmečić D, et al.. (2026). High prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among students in Croatia after the COVID-19 pandemic: A possible association with sleep quality and physical activity.. Psychiatria Danubina. https://doi.org/10.24869/psyd.2025.344