Prevalence of depression and its associated factors among medical students of a private medical college in south India

Background: Medical students are repeatedly exposed to a variety of stresses which can lead to development of depression. It is of paramount importance to detect this morbidity at the earliest and take timely corrective actions. This research intends to identify the prevalence, severity and associated factors of depression among the medical students of a private Medical College in Trivandrum.Methods: A cross sectional study was done among a total of 300 MBBS students selected randomly from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th year. A self-administered questionnaire, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), based on PRIME-MD Today, was used to make a provisional diagnosis of depression and its severity. Additional Questions were also included to find out the factors associated with depression.Results: This research found that, out of 300 students, 42% had no depression while 43%, 12% and 3% had mild, moderate and severe depression respectively. Factors such as year of study, presence of financial stress, presence of a romantic partner, participation in extra-curricular activities, substance abuse, family history of depression, family problems and health problems were found to have a significant association with presence of depression (p<0.05). However two factors namely gender and presence of addictions were not found to be associated with depression in the students (p>0.05).Conclusions: Depression was found to be high among medical students. It has been stated that young doctors should be given the same care and support that we expect them to provide to their patients. Therefore counselling services should be provided at medical colleges for early detection and treatment of depression.