Impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the health of university students.

ABSTRACT

The Covid-19 pandemic caused by the novel Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus, has resulted in millions of deaths and disruption to daily life across the globe. University students have been additionally affected by a sudden move to online learning, the closure of campuses and dramatic societal changes that have upended their experiences of higher education. Here we focus on the physical and mental health consequences of the pandemic for this population sector during 2020, and the interdependencies of these impacts. We survey the challenges for infection control on campuses and for monitoring the disease dynamics in student communities. Finally, we explore the psychological and mental health problems that have been exacerbated by the pandemic and evaluate the underlying factors that are most relevant to students.