Cohort profile: the SHoT-study, a national health and well-being survey of Norwegian university students

PURPOSE: The SHoT study was set up as a national student health survey for higher education in Norway, conducted at 4-year intervals. The dataset comprises a wide range of self-reported data covering information on mental and physical health, quality of life, health-related behaviours as well as more specific study-related information. PARTICIPANTS: The SHoT studies conducted so far in 2010, 2014 and 2018, included 6053, 13 525 and 50 054 fulltime students (aged 18–35), respectively. FINDINGS TO DATE: The main results from the first two waves have been published in three comprehensive Norwegian reports, with the most important finding being an increase in mental health problems (HSCL-score ≥2.0) among Norwegian college students from 2010 (16%) to 2014 (21%) to 2018 (29%). FUTURE PLANS: The next SHoT study will be conducted in 2022, 2026 and so on. Starting from 2018-study, the survey data can also be linked to several national registers.