Prevalence and Correlates of Psychiatric Symptoms Among Medical Students in Punjab: A Comprehensive Cross-Sectional Study: Mental Health Insights: Psychiatric Symptoms Among Punjab Medical Students

Rohma  Shahid; Maryam  Akram; Maria  Ayub; Mehwish  Nadeem; Eman  Fatima; Abdullah Mustafa  Haroon; Farwa Batool; Mubeen fatima Fatima

doi:10.69750/dmls.01.03.029

Authors

Rohma Shahid Lahore Medical & Dental College(LM&DC), Lahore, Pakistan Author
Maryam Akram Lahore Medical & Dental College(LM&DC), Lahore, Pakistan Author
Maria Ayub Lahore Medical & Dental College(LM&DC), Lahore, Pakistan Author
Mehwish Nadeem Lahore Medical & Dental College(LM&DC), Lahore, Pakistan Author
Eman Fatima Sialkot Medical College, Sialkot, Pakistan. Author
Abdullah Mustafa Haroon Central Park Medical College, Lahore,Pakistan Author
Farwa Batool Department of Biochemistry,University of Agriculture,Faisalabad,Pakistan Author
Mubeen Fatima Lecturer, Department of Forensic Sciences, University of Biological and Applied Sciences, a project of LM&DC, Pakistan Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.69750/dmls.01.03.029

Keywords:

Medical education, Psychiatric symptoms, Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Medical students, Punjab, Gender differences.

Abstract

Background: Pain is evident, pressure, hopelessness and anxiety-is equally well-known to students with each passing academic semester in medical school. To understand the frequency and reasons of mental symptoms in MBBS students, the current study aims at investigating the level of MBBS students at several medical colleges in Punjab, Pakistan.

Objective: To compare the results of stress, depressive, and anxious symptoms of several numbers of medical students studying in different medical colleges in Punjab and secondly, to evaluate the role of several demographics on these mental health indicators.

Methods: The cross-sectional survey was completed between September 2022 to May 2023 with 350 medical students from multiple private and government medical colleges in Punjab. A cross-sectional survey was carried out including the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) as the research tool and the data aspires to be statistically analyzed.

Results: the results indicated that the percentage of the medical students who reported to be stressed, sad, or anxious was 47.3%, 55.7%, and 61.4%, respectively. Female students also claimed higher levels of depression compared to male students 58.3% vs. 50. 1%, (p ≤0.01) and higher levels of anxiety 65.2% vs. 55.1%, (p ≤0.03). Students in rural locations reported greater levels of stress (52.6% vs. 43.2%, p ≤0.04) than urban ones.

Conclusion: The study linked high levels of mental symptoms among medical students in Punjab to characteristics such as being a female student or originating from a rural area. The current study emphasizes the necessity of targeted programs and activities in the areas of mental health promotion and preventive measures among medical college students.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Qureshi MFH, Mohammad D, Sadiq S, Abubaker ZJ, Kumari U, Devnani J, et al. A comparative cross-sectional analysis on prevalence of depression and associated risk factors among medical students and doctors of Karachi, Pakistan. Middle East Curr Psychiatry. 2020;27:1–6.

Kumari U, Dawani N, Devnani J, Qureshi MFH, Soleja FK, Mohammad D, et al. Depression among medical students of Karachi: a cross-sectional study. MedEdPublish. 2019;8:181.

Uttra AM, Uttra MGM, Rauf A, Uttra MM, Hasan UH, Batool A. Prevalence of depression: a cross-sectional study among MBBS students of Sargodha Medical College, Sargodha Pakistan. Prof Med J. 2017;24(3):482–9.

Rajar AB, Channa NA, Mugheri MH. Self-reported depression and its relationship with socio-demographic characteristics among medical students. Pak J Med Health Sci. 2022;16(8):601.

Bahhawi TA, Albasheer OB, Makeen AM, Arishi AM, Hakami OM, Maashi SM, et al. Depression, anxiety, and stress and their association with khat use: a cross-sectional study among Jazan University students, Saudi Arabia. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2018;2755–61.

Khan MS, Mahmood S, Badshah A, Ali SU, Jamal Y. Prevalence of depression, anxiety and their associated factors among medical students in Karachi, Pakistan. J Pak Med Assoc. 2006;56(12):583.

Shakeel HA, Maqsood H, Ishaq A, Ali B, Hussain H, Khan AR, et al. Insomnia among medical students: a cross-sectional study. Int J Res Med Sci. 2019;7(3):893.

Hombali A, Seow E, Yuan Q, Chang SHS, Satghare P, Kumar S, et al. Prevalence and correlates of sleep disorder symptoms in psychiatric disorders. Psychiatry Res. 2019;279:116–22.

Chang WW, Shi LX, Zhang L, Jin YL, Yu JG. Mental health status and associated factors among medical students engaged in online learning at home during the pandemic: a cross-sectional study from China. Front Psychiatry. 2021;12:755503.

Dhahri AA, Arain SY, Memon AM, Rao A, Khan MM, Hafeez G, et al. Psychological impact of COVID-19 on medical education of final-year students in Pakistan: a cross-sectional study. Ann Med Surg. 2020;60:445–50.

Ullah I, Islam MS, Ali S, Jamil H, Tahir MJ, Arsh A, et al. Insufficient physical activity and sedentary behaviors among medical students during the COVID-19 lockdown: findings from a cross-sectional study in Pakistan. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(19):10257.

Azad N, Shahid A, Abbas N, Shaheen A, Munir N. Anxiety and depression in medical students of a private medical college. J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. 2017;29(1):123–7.

Kang HK, Rhodes C, Rivers E, Thornton CP, Rodney T. Prevalence of mental health disorders among undergraduate university students in the United States: a review. J Psychosoc Nurs Ment Health Serv. 2021;59(2):17–24.

Ashfaq A, Anjum AF, Ali MF, Khan HF. Correlation of sleep quality and psychological parameters among health care students. Rawal Med J. 2022;47:888–91.

Yaqoob A, Majeed I, Khalid H, Hussain S, Shahid MH, Majeed F, et al. Risk factors for eating disorders among Chinese and international university students: a comparative cross-sectional study. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2022;30(4):241–7.

Ahmed G, Negash A, Kerebih H, Alemu D, Tesfaye Y. Prevalence and associated factors of depression among Jimma University students: a cross-sectional study. Int J Ment Health Syst. 2020;14:1–10.

Haddad M, Waqas A, Sukhera AB, Tarar AZ. Psychometric characteristics of the Revised Depression Attitude Questionnaire (R-DAQ) in Pakistani medical practitioners: a cross-sectional study of doctors in Lahore. BMC Res Notes. 2017;10:1–11.

Naveed S, Waqas A, Shah Z, Ahmad W, Wasim M, Rasheed J, et al. Trends in bullying and emotional and behavioral difficulties among Pakistani schoolchildren: a cross-sectional survey of seven cities. Front Psychiatry. 2020;10:976.

Haddad M, Waqas A, Qayyum W, Shams M, Malik S. Attitudes and beliefs of Pakistani medical practitioners about depression: a cross-sectional study in Lahore using the Revised Depression Attitude Questionnaire (R-DAQ). BMC Psychiatry. 2016;16:1–11.

Ismail H, Shibani M, Zahrawi HW, Slitin AF, Alzabibi MA, Mohsen F, et al. Knowledge of breast cancer among medical students in Syrian Private University, Syria: a cross-sectional study. BMC Med Educ. 2021;21(1):251.