TITLE:
Prevalence and Sociodemographic Characteristics of Students Hospitalized in Psychiatry at CHNU Fann (2019-2024)
AUTHORS:
Sokhna Seck, Chafaatou Mahamane, Momar Camara, Fatoumata Ba, Idrissa Ba, El Hadji Makhtar Ba, Oumar Mamadou Samba, Maimouna Dièye, Papa Lamine Faye, Aida Sylla
KEYWORDS:
Students, Psychiatry, Hospitalization, Sociodemographic Characteristics, Dakar, Senegal
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Psychiatry,
Vol.16 No.1,
January
20,
2026
ABSTRACT: Objective: To describe the prevalence and sociodemographic profiles of students hospitalised at the Moussa Diop Psychiatric Clinic of CHNU Fann in Dakar between 2019 and 2024. Methods: This retrospective descriptive study included all students hospitalised over 6 years (2019-2024). Data were extracted from the patients’ medical records. Results: Of the 3330 hospitalised patients, 346 were students, representing a hospital prevalence of 10.39%. A detailed analysis was conducted on 93 usable records. The mean age was 24.41 ± 3.7 years (range, 19-37 years). A male predominance was observed (63.44%; sex ratio = 1.74). The most represented fields were health sciences (15.05%) and mathematical sciences and computer science (15.05%). The majority were Senegalese (69.89%) and lived in the Dakar region (91.40%). The students were predominantly single (93.55%) and childless (95.70%). More than half of the participants were enrolled in the undergraduate cycle (65.96%). Conclusion: Hospitalised students were predominantly young males enrolled in the first cycle of university and living mainly in Dakar. These results highlight the need to expand mental health services in university settings in Senegal.