Prevalence of Depression Among Undergraduate Medical Students in India: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis

Prevalence of depression and its correlates among undergraduate health science students in Mogadishu, Somalia: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Depression among undergraduate health science students is increasingly recognized as a significant public health issue globally. These students face immense academic pressure, often leading to stress and mental exhaustion, particularly for students studying in a humanitarian crisis situation. However, there is a scarcity of information in this regard in higher education institutions in Somalia. Hence, this investigation was conducted to assess the prevalence of depression and its correlates health science students in Somalia.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 321 health science students from some universities in Mogadishu, Somalia. The data was collected from students studying medicine, nursing and midwifery, laboratory science and public health at SIMAD university, Banadir university, Mogadishu university and Jamhuriya university, all located in Mogadishu. Simple random sampling based on class list was used to select the participants and a web-based self-administered Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used to screen for depression. The collected data were cleaned and checked for completeness before exporting into SPSS version 27 Statistical software for analysis, where descriptive statistics as well as logistic regression analysis was done to determine the independent predictors of the outcome variable. Significant association was determined at a 95% confidence interval and p-value < 0.05.

RESULT

The prevalence of depression among the students was 58.6%. A total of 41.5% (133/321) of the participants were free from depression (Normal), while 30.8% had mild depression, 27.1% had moderate depression and 0.6% had severe depression. Analysis of the association between the sociodemographic variables and depressive state of the participant showed statistical significance (p-value = 0.045) for course of study. Students studying nursing and midwifery had the highest case of depression with 68.6% (59/86), followed by public health 66.7% (30/45), laboratory science 52.3% (34/65), and medicine having the least number of depressed students with 52.0% students (65/125). Similarly, gender of students was also found to be statistically significant (p-value = 0.001) with female students having 65% depression which is 41.1% of the total students studied.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of depression among health science students in Mogadishu was high and positively associated with gender, having trouble with authorities, emotional problems, as well as experience of sexual abuse or violence. Hence, routine screening and monitoring of students' mental health state on the campus and providing mental health services is necessary to address this growing problem.

Prevalence and level of stress among final-year students at a health science institute in Bangladesh

BACKGROUND

Final-year students studying in various health science institutes are usually very stressed about their studies so that they can complete their studies without any hurdles. This stress can lead to poor academic and professional results because psychological issues such as anxiety and depression are frequently overlooked and not treated. This study aimed to measure the prevalence of stress and also assess the level of stress symptoms among the final year students of health science institute in Bangladesh.

METHODS

A prospective cross-sectional study involving 134 final-year students of Bangladesh Health Professions Institute (BHPI), which is a well-known health science institute in Bangladesh measured the prevalence of stress and assessed the level of stress symptoms using the Academic Stress Scale (ASS-40). Data was collected through face-to-face interviews and analysed using SPSS software 25.0. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data retrieved from the students. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to find any deep relation between the levels of stress symptoms of the students with their age.

RESULTS

The prevalence of stress symptoms among the 134 students was 68.60%. The scenario of having stress symptoms was higher among male students and factors like fear of failure (29.20%), followed by teacher-student relationship/teaching method (28.80%) with addressable factors including personal inadequacy (25.50%) working as a stressor for this students. A negligible association (p > 0.05) was found between the age and the level of stress of the students.

CONCLUSION

More than two-thirds of the students experienced stress symptoms during the final days in their institutions. This implies that the educational system, means of teaching, teaching materials, teachers as well as the services provided by the institutions cannot provide a conducive environment for effective learning as well as creating a secure future for the students as long as they can cope with the academic pressure. A student's educational career is being nipped in the bud due to the weak system of our education and institutional system.

Assessment of Depression Among Students Studying in Higher Educational Institutions Using PHQ 9 in Tamil Nadu-A Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND

Depression is one of the significant public health concerns, accounting for about 800,000 suicides every year and affecting an estimated 300 million globally. Among the mental health issues students face, depression has become increasingly prevalent and detrimental to multiple factors that can either impact academic performance or overall health and well-being. This study aims to estimate the prevalence and identify factors associated with depression among students in higher education in Tamil Nadu.

METHODS

The cross-sectional survey with a sample size of 4059 and logistic regression was performed.

RESULTS

The results showed 51.2% of the students had depression. The risk for depression was greater in students between 23 and 24 years of age, with an odds ratio of 2.14 at p = 0.01 and a 95% confidence interval of 1.19-3.83. It was even more probable for pupils aged 25 and older, with an OR of 2.53 and p = 0.00, within the 95% CI: 1.66-3.86. Married students were less likely to suffer from depression compared to their non-married counterparts, with an OR of 0.22 and p = 0.014, within the 95% CI: 0.06-0.74. Those students who paid a high fee had a higher chance of suffering from depression, with an OR of 1.55 and p = 0.00, with a 95% CI: 1.20-2.00.

CONCLUSION

Age, marital status, and socioeconomic status showed significant associations with depression. These findings highlight the critical need for mental health support programs in higher education.

A 2023 nationwide study on adjustment disorder among first year MBBS students in India

Amidst the complex transition to medical college, encompassing a myriad of academic, social, and personal adjustments, MBBS students in India confront multifaceted challenges that can precipitate adjustment disorder, a phenomenon understudied within the Indian context. Therefore, it is of interest to assess adjustment disorder among first-year MBBS students within six months of enrolment. We used a Google form encompassing adjustment disorder new-module 20 for data collection and found that 67% of the 401 responses from first-year medical students exhibited adjustment disorder. The top stressors identified included time pressure, work pressure, financial problems, moving to a new home, and termination of important leisure activities. Female gender, age group 21-25, conflicts in working life, financial problems, own serious illness, family conflicts, pressure to meet deadlines, and excessive workload showed significant associations with adjustment disorder.