Prioritizing Mental Health: A Cross-Sectional Investigation of Depression Prevalence and Risk Factors among Medical Students in Peshawar, Pakistan

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2024.2173

Keywords:

Medical student depression, Risk factors, Mental health, Academic performance, Peshawar, Pakistan, Depression, Medical Students, Prevalence, Cross-Sectional Studies, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Mental Health, Socio-Demographic Characteristics, Anxiety Disorders, Health Surveys, Student Health Services, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Stress, Psychological, Educational Measurement, Health Promotion, Healthcare Disparities, Social Support, Suicide, Risk Factors, Public Health

Abstract

Background: Depression is a significant problem among medical students worldwide, affecting their well-being and potentially compromising patient care. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression among medical students in Peshawar, Pakistan, and to identify the associated risk factors.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to June 2023, involving medical students from seven colleges in Peshawar. We employed stratified sampling to distribute surveys to students. We collected data on socio-demographic characteristics, prevalence of depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and depression risk factors. We used multivariate logistic regression, clustered by university, to assess factors associated with depression.

Results: Out of 400 distributed questionnaires, 324 were returned (response rate: 81%). The participants' mean age was 21.70 ± 1.65 years, with 53.1% being females. The prevalence of depression was 19.4% and 26.2% were borderline cases. No variables were found to be significantly linked to depression in our multivariate regression model. However, male gender, year of study, experiencing discrimination or harassment in medical school, and having negative perceptions of medical school's impact on mental health had odds ratios above 1, with confidence intervals including the null value.

Conclusion: This study reveals a high prevalence of depression among medical students in Peshawar, Pakistan. It emphasizes the need to address risk factors and establish support systems to minimize the impact of depression on students' well-being and academic performance. Further studies are necessary to identify modifiable factors associated with depression in medical students.

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The image is a vertical bar chart displaying the proportion of individuals with varying severity levels of depression. There are five categories on the horizontal axis, from left to right: Minimal Depression, Mild Depression, Moderate Depression, Moderately Severe, and Severe Depression. The vertical axis represents the proportion, ranging from 0 to 35. The bars indicate the number of individuals in each category. 'Minimal Depression' has the shortest bar, suggesting a lower proportion. 'Mild Depression' has a taller bar, followed by a significantly higher bar for 'Moderate Depression', which appears to be the most common with the tallest bar of all, indicating the highest proportion. The 'Moderately Severe' category's bar drops down, and 'Severe Depression' has the lowest bar similar to 'Minimal Depression', indicating a smaller proportion in these categories. The overall chart shows a clear peak at 'Moderate Depression', highlighting it as the most prevalent severity level among the sample.

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Published

2024-03-27 — Updated on 2024-04-12

How to Cite

Nida Gul, Ayaz Ali, Rizwanullah, Khayam, Manahil Saeed Khan, Faiza Gul, Aiysha Gul, Shehriyar, Kashif Ali, & Syed Owais Haseeb. (2024). Prioritizing Mental Health: A Cross-Sectional Investigation of Depression Prevalence and Risk Factors among Medical Students in Peshawar, Pakistan. International Journal of Medical Students, 12(1), 22–28. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2024.2173

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Vol. 12 No. 1 (2024)

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Copyright (c) 2024 Nida Gul, Ayaz Ali, Rizwanullah, Khayam, Manahil Saeed Khan, Faiza Gul, Aiysha Gul, Shehriyar, Kashif Ali, Syed Owais Haseeb

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