Prevalence of Depressive Symptoms and Associated Factors among Banha Faculty of Medicine Students

Background: Medical students’ depression is a significant health problem which can lead to detrimental consequences on them, their families and their communities; presence of elevated depressive symptoms is a significant predictor of depression. Objectives: To study the prevalence of depressive symptoms among Banha Medical students and investigate associated factors. Methods: Cross-sectional survey was carried out in Banha Faculty of Medicine, involving students of the 1st to 6th grades. Self-administered Beck Depression Inventory questionnaire (BDI) was used for assessing depressive symptoms using 21 items. Socio-demographic data questionnaire was used to investigate the associated factors. Results: The study revealed that based on Beck depression inventory (BDI score 9), about 17.5% of students have elevated depressive symptoms and out of many factors affecting depressive symptoms only 5 factors showed statistically significant predictive effect by step wise logistic regression analysis. Those were: Having more than 5 siblings with 1.84 odds ratio (95% CI: 1.19-2.86), bad relationship with parents with 4.89 odds ratio (95% CI: 1.71-14.07), bad relation with colleagues with 2.57 odds ratio (95% CI: 1.66-3.99), no family support with 4.21 odds ratio (95% CI: 2.15-8.29) and physical inactivity with 2.33 odds ratio (95% CI: 1.52-3.58). Conclusion: Depressive symptoms were found to be common among medical students and significantly related to socio-demographic variables. There is a pressing need to prioritize mental health of medical students through implementing effective and integrative mental health programs.