DEPRESSION

Psychological stress is prevalent in medical schools and is associated withdepression. The personal and social sacrifices young medical apprentices have to makein order to sustain a fine academic outcome in an exceedingly competitive education setsthem under enormous strain. The estimated prevalence of depression among private medicalstudents has been 19% in United States, 49% in India, and 60% in Pakistan. Pakistan boastshighest prevalence of depression globally among undergraduate private medical students.Additionally a lack of any prior study in this institution, this study aimed to find prevalence ofdepression in the undergraduate private medical college of Lahore. Setting: The subjects werestudents of Shalamar Medical and Dental College, Lahore a private institution, in a metropolitanurban population. Study Design: Cross sectional study based on systematic random samplingtechnique. Methods: A modified, self-administered, structured questionnaire based onGoldberg’s depression scale was distributed to a sample of 240 subjects during March 2014,till October 2014. Higher total scores refer to higher depression levels. Prior to the initiation ofresearch permission was sought from the institution’s ethical review committee. The data entryand analyses were done in SPSS for Windows version 20.0. Results: The response rate was80%. The age of students (n= 164) averaged 21.1 ±1.4 years. The prevalence of depressionamong undergraduate medical students of our setting was almost 63% (n= 122). Thirty onepercent (n=59) were possibly mildly depressed, 9% (n=17) borderline depressed, 19%(n=37) mild to moderate cases, 20% (n=39) moderate to severe cases and 3 % (n=6) wereseverely depressed students. Almost 85% (n= 40) of the students from second year sufferedfrom depression the highest prevalence among all undergraduate medical years. A substantial41% (n= 36) and 42 % (n= 37) of students suffering from depression admitted to the use oftaking stimulants like amphetamines and caffeine respectively. Conclusion: The prevalence ofdepression is highest among the students of second academic year. Terminal illness of a familymember and effect of law and order situation of the country also compromise the mental healthof undergraduate medical students.