Prevalence and factors associated with depressive symptoms among medical students in their first and final year of study
Background/Aim. The mental health of medical students worsens during their studies, and research shows that medical students are at high risk of depression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and to examine the association between various risk factors and dep...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Military Health Department, Ministry of Defance, Serbia
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Vojnosanitetski Pregled |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0042-8450/2023/0042-84502200046C.pdf |
| _version_ | 1811155161644531712 |
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| author | Čanković Sonja Mijatović-Jovanović Vesna Harhaji Sanja Šušnjević Sonja Ukropina Snežana Kvrgić Svetlana Čanković Dušan |
| author_facet | Čanković Sonja Mijatović-Jovanović Vesna Harhaji Sanja Šušnjević Sonja Ukropina Snežana Kvrgić Svetlana Čanković Dušan |
| author_sort | Čanković Sonja |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background/Aim. The mental health of medical students worsens during their studies, and research shows that medical students are at high risk of depression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and to examine the association between various risk factors and depressive symptoms in a sample of first- and sixth-year medical students at the University of Novi Sad. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Novi Sad. The sample consisted of 308 students divided into two groups – 213 students in the first year and 9 5 students in the final (sixth) year of medical studies. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to measure depressive symptoms. Within this instrument, item 9 was used to identify suicidal ideation. Self-esteem was evaluated with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). Additional questions were focused on self-assessed material status, lifestyle factors, and mental healthcare-seeking. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were applied. Results. The prevalence of depressive episodes among medical students was 16.6%. Almost 9% had thoughts of committing suicide. First-year students with low self-esteem were almost seven times more likely to suffer from moderate to severe depressive symptoms than those with high self-esteem. Students who had used sleeping pills or sedatives without a prescription were nearly five times more likely to have a PHQ-9 score ≥ 10 than those who had not [odds ratio (OR) = 4.97, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.83–13.52)]. Sixth-year students with poor or average self-assessed social relation-ships and low self-esteem had a stronger association with a PHQ-9 score ≥ 1 0. Conclusion. There is a high prevalence of depressive episodes among first and sixth-year medical students, and it is associated with low self-esteem in both groups, use of sleeping or sedative pills without a prescription among first-year students, and poor social health in sixth-year students. We recommend routine screening for depression in medical students and establishing prevention and intervention programs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:29:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6ef0c3a678af42b5999f8b7d2c85050f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0042-8450 2406-0720 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:29:29Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Military Health Department, Ministry of Defance, Serbia |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vojnosanitetski Pregled |
| spelling | doaj.art-6ef0c3a678af42b5999f8b7d2c85050f2023-03-10T08:07:55ZengMilitary Health Department, Ministry of Defance, SerbiaVojnosanitetski Pregled0042-84502406-07202023-01-01801414910.2298/VSP220209046C0042-84502200046CPrevalence and factors associated with depressive symptoms among medical students in their first and final year of studyČanković Sonja0Mijatović-Jovanović Vesna1Harhaji Sanja2Šušnjević Sonja3Ukropina Snežana4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8217-5215Kvrgić Svetlana5Čanković Dušan6University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine, Novi Sad, Serbia + Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina, Center for Analysis, Planning and Organization of Health Care, Novi Sad, SerbiaUniversity of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine, Novi Sad, Serbia + Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina, Center for Analysis, Planning and Organization of Health Care, Novi Sad, SerbiaUniversity of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine, Novi Sad, Serbia + Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina, Center for Informatics and Biostatistics, Novi Sad, SerbiaInstitute of Public Health of Vojvodina, Center for Analysis, Planning and Organization of Health Care, Novi Sad, SerbiaUniversity of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine, Novi Sad, Serbia + Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina, Center for Health Promotion, Novi Sad, Serbia University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine, Novi Sad, Serbia + Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina, Center for Analysis, Planning and Organization of Health Care, Novi Sad, SerbiaUniversity of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine, Novi Sad, Serbia + Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina, Center for Health Promotion, Novi Sad, Serbia Background/Aim. The mental health of medical students worsens during their studies, and research shows that medical students are at high risk of depression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and to examine the association between various risk factors and depressive symptoms in a sample of first- and sixth-year medical students at the University of Novi Sad. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Novi Sad. The sample consisted of 308 students divided into two groups – 213 students in the first year and 9 5 students in the final (sixth) year of medical studies. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to measure depressive symptoms. Within this instrument, item 9 was used to identify suicidal ideation. Self-esteem was evaluated with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). Additional questions were focused on self-assessed material status, lifestyle factors, and mental healthcare-seeking. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were applied. Results. The prevalence of depressive episodes among medical students was 16.6%. Almost 9% had thoughts of committing suicide. First-year students with low self-esteem were almost seven times more likely to suffer from moderate to severe depressive symptoms than those with high self-esteem. Students who had used sleeping pills or sedatives without a prescription were nearly five times more likely to have a PHQ-9 score ≥ 10 than those who had not [odds ratio (OR) = 4.97, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.83–13.52)]. Sixth-year students with poor or average self-assessed social relation-ships and low self-esteem had a stronger association with a PHQ-9 score ≥ 1 0. Conclusion. There is a high prevalence of depressive episodes among first and sixth-year medical students, and it is associated with low self-esteem in both groups, use of sleeping or sedative pills without a prescription among first-year students, and poor social health in sixth-year students. We recommend routine screening for depression in medical students and establishing prevention and intervention programs.http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0042-8450/2023/0042-84502200046C.pdfdepressionmental healthpatient health questionnairesigns and symptomsstudents, medicalsuicidal ideation |
| spellingShingle | Čanković Sonja Mijatović-Jovanović Vesna Harhaji Sanja Šušnjević Sonja Ukropina Snežana Kvrgić Svetlana Čanković Dušan Prevalence and factors associated with depressive symptoms among medical students in their first and final year of study Vojnosanitetski Pregled depression mental health patient health questionnaire signs and symptoms students, medical suicidal ideation |
| title | Prevalence and factors associated with depressive symptoms among medical students in their first and final year of study |
| title_full | Prevalence and factors associated with depressive symptoms among medical students in their first and final year of study |
| title_fullStr | Prevalence and factors associated with depressive symptoms among medical students in their first and final year of study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence and factors associated with depressive symptoms among medical students in their first and final year of study |
| title_short | Prevalence and factors associated with depressive symptoms among medical students in their first and final year of study |
| title_sort | prevalence and factors associated with depressive symptoms among medical students in their first and final year of study |
| topic | depression mental health patient health questionnaire signs and symptoms students, medical suicidal ideation |
| url | http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0042-8450/2023/0042-84502200046C.pdf |
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