Back ground: medical students’ depression is a significant health problem which can lead to detrimental consequences on them, their families and their communities; presence of elevated depressive symptoms is a significant predictor of depression. Objectives: To study the prevalence of depressive symptoms among Banha medical students and investigate associated factors. Methods: cross-sectional survey was carried out in Banha faculty of medicine, involving students of the 1st to 6thgrades. Self-administered Beck Depression Inventory questionnaire (BDI) was used for assessing depressive symptoms using 21 items. Socio-demographic data questionnaire was used to investigate the associated factors. Results: the study revealed that based on Beck depression inventory (BDI score ≥ 9), about 17.5% of students have elevated depressive symptoms and out of many factors affecting depressive symptoms only 5 factors showed statistically significant predictive effect by step wise logistic regression analysis. Those were: having more than 5 siblings with 1.84 odds ratio (95% CI: 1.19-2.86), bad relationship with parents with 4.89 odds ratio (95% CI: 1.71-14.07), bad relation with colleagues with 2.57 odds ratio (95% CI: 1.66-3.99), no family support with 4.21 odds ratio (95% CI: 2.15-8.29) and physical inactivity with 2.33 odds ratio (95% CI: 1.52-3.58). Conclusion: depressive symptoms were found to be common among medical students and significantly related to socio-demographic variables. There is a pressing need to prioritize mental health of medical students through implementing effective and integrative mental health programs. |
