Investigation of prevalence of depression among medical students of Balkh University of Medical Sciences, Afghanistan

Depression is a common disease and understanding its influential factors is important. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of depression among medical students of Balkh University of Medical Science.

In this cross-sectional study, 250 students of medical school were selected by <a href="javascript:void(0)">convenience sampling. Among participants, 126 subjects (50.4%) were women, 124 (49.6%) were men, 175 subject (70%) were single and 75 (30%) were married. Beck standardized questionnaire was used to measure depression.

The results showed that among the participants who had a normal depression score 26.9% (n=34) were female, 35.4% (n=44) were male, 33.1% (n=58) were single and 26/6% (20=n) were married. Also, among those with a mild depression score, 34.1% (n=43%) were female, 25% (n=31) were male, 26.2% (n=46) were single, and 37.3% (n=28) were married. Moderate depression scores were observed in 30.15% (n=38) female, 31.4% (n=39) male, 28.5% (n=50) single and 36% (n=27) marred participants. Also, the number of people with severe depression was reported to be 8.7% (n=11) of female, 8% (n=10) male, and 12% (n=21) single participants and there was no severe depression reported among married participants. It was also found that there was a significant relationship between depression scores and marital status (P=0.005), but the relationship between depression scores and gender was not significant (P=0.351).

Considering the high prevalence of depression among medical students of Balkh University of Medical Sciences, it is suggested that the areas of mental health counseling should be prioritized by relevant authorities.