Subjective forgetfulness among university students: a study from Jordan

Subjective forgetfulness is common and may be related to ageing and dementia. It has several contributing factors, including pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression, poor concentration, and some nutritional deficiencies. Thus, the study hypothesized that the comorbidity of musculoskeletal pain (MSP), fatigue, psychological symptoms, and poor dietary calcium intake among Jordanian undergraduate students is associated with subjective forgetfulness. The aim of the current study was to test this hypothesis. This cross-sectional study involved 396 university students from both genders. Data on demographics and complaints of MSP, fatigue, forgetfulness, poor concentration, and calcium intake were collected by self-reporting. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to assess symptoms of anxiety and depression. Subjective forgetfulness was reported by 60.4% of participants. Poor concentration, fatigue, and MSP were present in 63.9%, 36.6%, and 76.7% of participants, respectively. Borderline or abnormal HADS anxiety and depression scores were observed in 61.3% and 40.9% of participants. Additionally, 65.9% of the study population consumed less than 471 mg/day of dietary calcium. Chi-square testing showed that subjective forgetfulness was significantly associated with HADS-anxiety and depression scores, fatigue, low calcium intake, and poor concentration (P ≤ 0.05). The result of the binary logistic regression showed that subjective forgetfulness can be predicted from poor concentration, fatigue, abnormal HADS-anxiety and depression scores, and low calcium intake (P ≤ 0.05). Subjective forgetfulness is prevalent among university students and associated with poor concentration, fatigue, pain, psychological symptoms, and low calcium intake. Poor concentration, psychological symptoms, fatigue, and low calcium intake predict subjective forgetfulness.