Abstract

Research Article

Socio-demographic characteristics and other factors associated with depressive illness among medical students at the University of Port Harcourt

Asuquo EO*, Nkporbu AK*, Okechukwu C, Onoh I and Okafor NT

Published: 14 May, 2020 | Volume 4 - Issue 1 | Pages: 040-048

Background: The burden of depression as a mental disorder has continued to increase and constituting an enormous public health concern among all age groups. A number of socio-demographic, and other factors including a stressful and rigorous academic programme or curriculum such as the one run in most medical schools could contribute to the occurrence of depression among medical students.

AIM: To determine the socio-demographic and other factors associated with depression among medical students in the University of Port Harcourt.

Methodology: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Appropriate sample size was calculated and the stratified random sampling method was used to select the subjects. A well-structured open ended self-administered socio-demographic questionnaire was administered to the students. The Zung Self-Rated Depression Scale was used to assess the depression status of each respondent. The data were analyzed via descriptive and analytical methods.

Results: The prevalence of depression among the medical students was 5.3%. Fourteen students (4.6%) were mildly depressed while only two respondents had moderate depression. Year 3 had the highest prevalence with 10.5% followed by final year with 5.3%, while the only 2 cases of moderate depression were found among students in year 2 of their medical programme. Two hundred and seventy-one respondents (88.8%) were found to have good knowledge of depression, 32 (10.5%) were found to have average knowledge of depression and 2(0.7%) had poor knowledge of depression.

Conclusion: Depression does occur among medical students at the University of Port Harcourt albeit low, and was associated with a number of socio-demographic and other factors. The present medical curriculum and programme should be sustained and more efforts at making it less stressful and academically friendly, be made to further reduce the current rate of psychological stress and depression among the students.

Read Full Article HTML DOI: 10.29328/journal.ida.1001018 Cite this Article Read Full Article PDF

Keywords:

Socio-Demographic Characteristics; Depressive illness; Medical students; University of Port Harcourt

References

  1. World Health Organisation. Media centre; Depression. 2012.
  2. Marcus M, Yasamy MT, van Ommeren M, Chisholm D, Saxena S. Depression, A Global Public Health Concern. Geneva: World Health Organization Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. 2014.
  3. Ferrari AJ, Charlson FJ, Norman RE, Patten SB, Freedman G, et al. Burden of Depressive Disorders by Country, Sex, Age, and Year: Findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. PLoS Med. 2013; 10: e1001547. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24223526
  4. Moir F, Yielder J, Sanson J, Chen Y. Depression in medical students: current insights. Adv Med Educ Pract. 2018; 9: 323–333. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29765261
  5. Puthran R, Zhang MWB, Tam WW, Ho RC. Prevalence of depression amongst medical students: a meta-analysis. Med Educ. 2016; 50: 456–468. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26995484
  6. Tam W, Lo K, Pacheco J. Prevalence of depressive symptoms among medical students: overview of systematic reviews. Med Educ. 2019; 53: 345–354. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30474128
  7. Tran Quynh Anh. Factors associated with mental health of medical students in Vietnam: a national study. Queensland University of Technology. 2015.
  8. Dahlin M, Joneborg N, Runeson B. Stress and depression among medical students: a cross-sectional study. Med Educ. 2005; 39: 594–604. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15910436
  9. Baldassin S, AlvesTC, de Andrade AG, Nogueira Martins LA. The characteristics of depressive symptoms in medical students during medical education and training: a cross-sectional study. BMC Med Educ. 2008; 8: 60. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19077227
  10. Alvi T, Assad F, Ramzan M, Khan FA. Depression, anxiety and their associated factors among medical students. J Coll Physicians Surg Pak. 2010; 20: 122–126. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20378041
  11. Rosenthal JM, Okie S. White coat, mood indigo – depression in medical school. N Engl J Med. 2005; 353: 1085–1088. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16162877
  12. Dyrbye LN, West CP, Satele D, Boone S, Tan L, et al. Burnout among U.S. medical students, residents, and early career physicians relative to the general U.S. population. Acad Med. 2014; 89: 443–451. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24448053
  13. Brazeau CM, Shanafelt T, Durning SJ, Massie FS, Eacker A, et al. Distress among matriculating medical students relative to the general population. Acad Med. 2014; 89: 1520–1525. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25250752
  14. Stallman HM. Psychological distress in university students: a comparison with general population data. Aust Psychol. 2010; 45: 249–257.
  15. World Health Organization. Suicide Prevention. Briefing: WHO European Ministerial Conference on Mental Health. Briefing. 2004.
  16. World Health Organisation. Mental Health; Suicide Data 2012.
  17. Schwenk TL, Davis L, Wimsatt LA. Depression, stigma, and suicidal ideation in medical students. JAMA. 2010; 304: 1181–1190. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20841531
  18. Rotenstein LS, Ramos MA, Torre M, Segal JB, Peluso MJ, et al. Prevalence of Depression, Depressive Symptoms, and Suicidal Ideation Among Medical Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA. 2016; 316: 2214–2236. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27923088
  19. Tran Quynh Anh. Well-being, depression and suicidal ideation among medical students throughout Vietnam. Vietnam Journal of Medicine and Pharmacy. 2014.
  20. Rosiek A, Rosiek-Kryszewska A, Leksowski L, Leksowski K. Chronic stress and suicidal thinking among medical students. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016; 13: 212. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26891311
  21. Miletic V, Lukovic JA, Ratkovic N, Aleksic D, Grgurevic A. Demographic risk factors for suicide and depression among Serbian medical school students. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatry Epidemiol. 2015; 50: 633–638. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25205334
  22. Adewuya AO, Ola BA, Aloba O. Depression amongst Nigerian University Students; Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates. Soc Psychiatry Epidemiol. 2006; 41: 674-678. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16680408
  23. Radeef AS, Faisal GG, Ali SM, Ismail MK. Source of stressors and emotional disturbances among undergraduate science students in Malaysia. Int J Med Res Health Sci. 2014; 3: 401–410.
  24. Al-Dabal BK, Koura MR, Rasheed P, Al-Sowielem L, Makki SM. Comparative Study of Perceived Stress among Female Medical and Non-Medical University Students in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J. 2010; 10: 231–240. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21509235
  25. Muhammad SK, Sajid M, Areef B. Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety and their associated factors among medical students in Karachi, Pakistan. J Pak Med Assoc. 2012; 56: 583–586. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17312648
  26. Gul A, Unal A, Alaettin U, Didem A. Prevalence of depression, its correlates among students, and its effect on health-related quality of life in a Turkish university. Ups J Med Sci. 2009; 114: 170-177. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19736608
  27. Kumar GS, Jain A, Hedge S. Prevalence of depression and its associated factors using Beck Depression Inventory among Students of a Medical College in Karnataka. Indian J Psychiatry. 2012; 54: 223–226. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23226844
  28. Mancevska S, Bozinovska L, Teece J, Pluncevik-Gilgoroska J, Siveska-Smilevska E. Depression, anxiety and substance use in medical students in the Republic of Macedonia. Bratisi Lek Listy 2008; 109: 568 – 572. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19348380
  29. Al Moamary MS, Al Ghobain MO, Al ShehriSN, Gasmelseed AY, Al-Hajjaj MS. Predicting tobacco use among high school students by using the global youth tobacco survey in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ann Thorac Med. 2012; 7: 122–129. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22924068
  30. Trosclair A, Dube SR. Smoking among adults reporting lifetime depression, anxiety, anxiety with depression, and major depressive episode, United States, 2005–2006. Addict Behav. 2010; 35: 438–443. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20079577
  31. Mojtabai R, Crum RM. Cigarette smoking and onset of mood and anxiety disorders. Am J Public Health. 2013; 103: 1656–1665. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23327282
  32. Whalen CK, Jamner LD, Henker B, Delfino RJ. Smoking and moods in adolescents with depressive and aggressive dispositions: evidence from surveys and electronic diaries. Health Psychol. 2001; 20: 99–111.
  33. Gulee M, Bakr B, Ozer M, Ucar M, Klc S, et al. Association between cigarette smoking and depressive symptoms among military medical students in Turkey. Psych Res 2005; 134: 281-286. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15892988
  34. El-Gilany AH, Amr M, Hammad S. Perceived stress among male medical students in Egypt and Saudi Arabia: effect of sociodemographic factors. Ann Saudi Med. 2008; 28: 442–448. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19011321
  35. Ibrahim N, Al-Kharboush D, El-Khatib L, Al-Habib A, Asali D. Prevalence and Predictors of Anxiety and Depression among Female Medical Students in King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Iran J Public Health.2013; 42: 726–736. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24427751
  36. SundasIshtiaq MK, Anum S, Saira M. Prevalence of study related anxiety among female medical students. ISRA Med J. 2013; 5: 2.
  37. Gabr AR. Depression, anxiety and stress among first year medical students in an Egyptian public university. Int Res J Med Med Sci. 2014; 2: 11–19.
  38. Heinen I, Bullinger M, Kocalevent RD. Perceived stress in first year medical students – associations with personal resources and emotional distress. BMC Med Educ. 2017; 17: 4. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5216588/
  39. Vaz RF, Mbajiorgu EF, Acuda SW. A Preliminary Study of Stress Levels among first year Medical Students at the University of Zimbabwe. Cent Afr J Med 1998; 44: 214 – 219. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10101425
  40. John A, Towes M D, Jocelyn M. Analysis of stress levels among medical students, residents and graduate students at four Canadian schools of medicine. Acad Med 1997; 72: 997 – 1002. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9387825
  41. Danlin M, Joneborg N, Runeson B. Stress and Depression among Medical Students: a cross sectional study. Med Educ. 2005; 39:594 – 604. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15910436
  42. Coumaravelou S, Ray W. Medical students’ experience of and reaction to stress: The role of depression and anxiety. Hindawi Publishing Corporation. Scientific World J. 2014; Article ID 737382. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24688425
  43. Yusoff MS, Abdul Rahim AF, Baba AA, Ismail SB, Mat Pa MN, et al. The impact of medical education on psychological health of students: a cohort study. Psychol Health Med. 2013; 18: 420–430. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23140393
  44. Reed DA, Shanafelt TD, Satele DW, et al. Relationship of pass/fail grading and curriculum structure with well-being among preclinical medical students: a multi-institutional study. Acad Med. 2011; 86: 1367–1373. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21952063
  45. University of Port Harcourt. http://www.en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Port_Harcourt
  46. Depression, Anxiety and stress [webpage on the Internet] American Psychological Association. http://www.apa.org/topics/depression/anxiety/stress/index.aspx
  47. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Physician and Medical Student Depression and Suicide Prevention. 2016. http://afsp.org/our-work/education/physician-medical-student-depression-suicide-prevention/
  48. Aniebue PN, Onyema GO. Prevalence of depressive symptoms among Nigerian medical undergraduates. Trop Doct. 2008; 38: 157-158. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18628542
  49. Sidana S, Kishore J, Ghosh V, et al. Prevalence of depression in students of a medical college in New Delhi: A cross-sectional study. AMJ. 2012; 5: 5, 247 -250.
  50. Sherina MS, Rampal I, Kaneson N. Psychological stress among undergraduate medical students. Med J Malaysia. 2004; 59: 207 – 211. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15559171
  51. Owen P, Harrison P, Burns T. Shorter Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry. 6th edition. United Kingdom; Oxford University Press; 2012.
  52. Jackson W. Mindfulness and perfectionism in dentistry. J Mass Dent Soc. 2017; 66: 12–13. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29809334
  53. Henning K, Ey S, Shaw D. Perfectionism, the imposter phenomenon and psychological adjustment in medical, dental, nursing and pharmacy students. Med Educ. 1998; 32: 456–464. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10211285
  54. Risko EF, Anderson N, Sarwal A, Engelhardt M, Kingstone A. Everyday Attention: Variation in Mind Wandering and Memory in a Lecture. Appl Cognit Psychol. 2012; 26: 234–242.
  55. University of Tokyo. Admission information to Medicine Program for international students. https://www.jpss.jp/en/univ/31/112/
  56. University of Tokyo. Admission information to Medicine Program for international students [Internet]. [cited 13 May 2019]. Available: https://www.jpss.jp/en/univ/31/112/
  57. Harvard Medical School. Submitting an Application to Harvard Medical School. https://meded.hms.harvard.edu/admissions-submitting-application
  58. University of Nanjing, China. MBBS Admission. http://english.njmu.edu.cn/6079/list.htm
  59. University of Port Harcourt. http://www.en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Port_Harcourt
  60. Putthasri W, Suphanchaimat R, Topothai T, Wisaijohn T, Thammatacharee N, et al. Thailand special recruitment track of medical students: a series of annual cross-sectional surveys on the new graduates between 2010 and 2012. Human Resources for Health. 2013; 11: 47. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24063633
  61. University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Admission to Medicine program for undergraduates. https://apply.ucc.edu.gh/Regular/admission.html
  62. University of Nairobi, School of Medicine, Kenya. Admission to Medicine program for undergraduates. http://medschool.uonbi.ac.ke/uon_degrees_details/98#.reg_anchor_98_351
  63. Dyrbye LN, Massie FS, Jr, Eacker A, Harper W, Power D, Durning SJ, et al. Relationship between burnout and professional conduct and attitudes among US medical students. JAMA. 2010; 304: 1173–1180. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20841530
  64. Edméa Fontes de Oliva Costa MVR, Ana Teresa Rodrigues de Abreu S, et al. Common mental disorders and associated factors among final-year healthcare students. Rev Assoc Med Brasil. 2014; 60: 525–530. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25650851
  65. Dyrbye LN, Thomas MR, Shanafelt TD. Medical student distress: causes, consequences, and proposed solutions. Mayo Clin Proc. 2005; 80: 1613–1622. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16342655
  66. Nwobi EA, Ekwueme OC, Ezeoke UE. Mental depression and coping strategies among medical students of University of Nigeria. J College Med. 2009; 14: 188 – 260. http://www.ajol.info/index.php/jcm/articleview44848
  67. Pierceall EA, Keim MC. Stress and coping strategies among community college students. Community Coll J Res Pract. 2007; 31: 703–712.
  68. Bamuhair SS, Al Farhan AI, Althubaiti A, Agha S, Rahman S, et al. Sources of stress and coping strategies among undergraduate medical students enrolled in a problem-based learning curriculum. J Biomed Educ. 2015; 2015: 8.
  69. Sreeramareddy CT, Shankar PR, Binu VS, Mukhopadhyay C, Ray B, et al. Psychological morbidity, sources of stress and coping strategies among undergraduate medical students of Nepal. BMC Med Educ. 2007; 7: 26. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17678553
  70. The Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale 2016. www.who.int/substance_abuse/research_tools/zungdepressionscale/en/
  71. Cheng DR, Poon F, Nguyen TT, Woodman RJ, Parker JD. Stigma and perception of psychological distress and depression in Australian-trained medical students: results from an inter-state medical school survey. Psychiatry Res. 2013; 209: 684–690. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23561490
  72. Ranu Rawat SK, Manju L. Prevalence of depression and its associated factors among medical students of a private medical college in south India. Int J Commun Med Public Health. 2016; 3: 1393–1398.
  73. Singh A, Shekhar L. Prevalence of depression among medical students of a private medical college in India. Online J Health Allied Sci. 2010; 9: 8.
  74. Suresh C. Prevalence and associated factors of depression, anxiety and stress among undergraduate medical students. Int J Indian Psychol. 2016; 3: 2348–5396.
  75. Kebede MA, Anbessie B, Ayano G. Prevalence and predictors of depression and anxiety among medical students in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Int J Ment Health Syst. 2019; 13: 30. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31080499
  76. Onyishi M, Talukdar D, Sanchez R, Olaleye AO, Medavarapu S, et al. Prevalence of Clinical Depression among Medical Students and Medical Professionals: A Systematic Review Study. Arch Med. 2016; 8: 6.
  77. Roh MS, Jeon HJ, Kim H. The Prevalence and Impact of Depression among Medical Students: a nationwide cross-sectional study in South Korea. Acad Med. 2010; 85: 1384-1390. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20453812
  78. Jadoon NA, Yaqoob R, Raza A, Shehzad MA, . Anxiety and depression among medical students: a cross-sectional study. J Pak Med Assoc. 2010; 60: 699-702. PubMed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20726214
  79. Pham T, Bui L, Nguyen A, Nguyen B, Tran P, et al. The prevalence of depression and associated risk factors among medical students: An untold story in Vietnam. PLoS ONE. 2019; 14: e0221432. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6701769/

Similar Articles

Recently Viewed

Read More

Most Viewed

Read More

Help ?