Symptoms of anxiety and depression among medical students: study of prevalence and associated factors

Abstract:

Introduction:   Common Mental Disorders (CMDs) imply psychological distress, interfering with daily activities, interpersonal relationships and quality of life. It is estimated that CMDs affect 9% to 12% of the world’s population and 12% to 15% of the Brazilian population in all age groups. Among different social groups, university students are more vulnerable to the development of anxiety and depression disorders.

Objective:  Therefore, this study proposed to estimate the prevalence rates and factors associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression in medical students in a capital city of northeast Brazil.

Methods:  This is a prevalence study, with a probabilistic sample of 1,339 students who regularly attended the 12 semesters of medical school in January 2018. Data were collected by applying a socioeconomic, behavioral and demographic survey and Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventories. The chi-square test was used to check for differences between anxiety and depression symptoms and socioeconomic and behavioral variables. The prevalence rates (total and by level of severity) and the crude and adjusted prevalence ratio (PR) were used as an association measure. Linear trend analysis was used to verify the existence of an association between anxiety and depression symptoms and semesters of the medical school. The variables that showed a crude PR with p <0.20 were incorporated into the multivariate analysis, using the robust Poisson regression model, to determine the adjusted PR.

Results:  The prevalence of symptoms of anxiety was 30.8%, whereas depression was 36.0%. The crude and adjusted PR for anxiety symptoms showed a statistically significant association with gender, age and sexual orientation. The crude and adjusted PR for symptoms of depression showed a statistically significant association with gender, ethnicity/skin color and sexual orientation. The correlation analyses between the semesters of the course and the presence of anxiety and depression symptoms indicated a weak coefficient of determination, with a descending characteristic and without statistical significance.

Conclusions:   As this is a prevalence study, this investigation does not allow conclusions on causality. Additional follow-up studies are needed to elucidate the course of anxiety and depression throughout the school semesters.

Keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Medical Students; Medical Education