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A College Guide to Chronic Disease
Sure, there's a bit of exaggeration in the above statement. But for some students, particularly those who already have a chronic disease when they enter college, the stresses and strains of life amid the ivory towers could place them at risk for becoming ill or making an existing chronic illness even worse.
"We need to remember that a young person going away to college is still in late adolescence, and being a teenager in today's society is a challenge, even without adding a chronic disease to the mix," says Karmeen Kulkarni, MS, RD, BC-ADM, CDE, president-elect of health care and education at the American Diabetes Association (ADA). "These students are leaving home for the first time, and as they detach themselves from their family environment, they may find themselves without the physical and moral support that parents provide."
The result? College students with a chronic disease could become less conscientious about caring for their illness, which in some cases could turn a long-term health problem into a much more serious condition.
Coping With Chronic Disease
Robert Winfield, MD, director of the University Health Service at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, says some students arrive on campus already battling one or more chronic diseases, from asthma to epilepsy, from depression to inflammatory bowel disease. At the same time, their maturity level in dealing with their illness can vary dramatically from one young person to another.
Some students with diabetes, for instance, "are quite mature and have gotten the message that they need to do a good job of monitoring and managing their blood glucose levels," says Winfield. "But others might be rebellious or may be in denial about their diabetes, and they aren't as conscientious as they should be about their self-care."
Sweating Out College Stress
Without a doubt, the pressure cooker of life on campus -- with its academic-related anxieties, its extracurricular demands, and its social angst -- can take a toll on some students. As they're juggling a biology term paper, an upcoming history exam, and a roommate who listens to music with the volume frozen at stratospheric levels, their physical and mental well-being can be brought to its knees faster than you can say "all-night study sessions."
"As stress levels mount just before midterms and again with the approach of finals, we see more anxiety and more depression among students, as well as more headaches and respiratory infections," says Winfield.
As college anxiety intensifies, the statistics surrounding some chronic diseases, such as depression, are on the rise and can almost take your breath away. In a 2000 survey, the American College Health Association (ACHA) found that 10% of college students -- 12.8% of women and 6.2% of men -- had been diagnosed with depression. The ACHA has reported that at some point over the course of a school year, 61% of college students have described themselves as feeling hopeless, while 45% have reported feelings of depression so severe that it has been difficult for them to function.
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