DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2020.v08i09.020

Pages: 2080-2084

Background: Depression among medical students is an important health issue at the global level. Academic pressure, though established, is an unavoidable cause of depression in medical students. It is associated with anxiety and psychological stress. Medical education across the globe is perceived as being inherently stressful. Studies on psychological problems such as stress, depression and anxiety among medical students have found that these disorders are under diagnosed and under treated. In this background the present study was undertaken with the objectives to assess the magnitude of depression and its associated factors among medical students. Methods: Medical undergraduates of Govt. Medical College Srinagar were enrolled for the study conducted between October 2018 to December 2018. A predesigned, pretested scale was used to assess their depression levels Results: The overall prevalence of depression was found to be 47.5%. Among those with depression, 49.5% had mild depression and 21% had borderline depression. Moreover, 26.31% had moderate depression and 3.15% was found with severe depression. 41.05% (39) of the depressed were males and 58.9% (56) were females. According to cut-off scores, 105 students (52.5%) scored as normal (1-10), 47 (23.5%) as mild (11-16), 20 (10%) as borderline (17-20), 25 (12.5%) as moderate (21-30), and 03 (1.5%) as severe (31-40) depression. The prevalence of depression was comparatively less among 2nd year and 3rd year medical students (35.38% and 30.22%, respectively) (χ2=34.76, P=0.001). Conclusion: Emphasize should be laid on the importance of screening for depression of medical students on a regular basis for early detection and rendering appropriate intervention like group counseling, stress management training etc. to protect the future professionals.