The Prevalence and Associated Factors of Depressive Symptoms Among Medical Students in Bangladesh During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study
Biswas MAAJ., Hasan MT., Samir N., Alin SI., Homaira N., Hassan MZ., Khatun MR., Anjum A., Hossain S., Koly KN., Safa F., Alam SF., Rafi MA., Osman Biswas MAA., Yasmin F., Podder V., Trisa TI., Azad DT., Nodi RN., Ashraf F., Akther SMQ., Ahmed HU.
BackgroundWhilst very limited studies have demonstrated a correlation between the COVID-19 pandemic and depressive symptoms amongst Bangladeshi medical students, the prevalence and associated factors of depressive symptoms as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) remains widely unknown.ObjectiveThe study aimed to investigate the prevalence and factors associated with depression symptoms among Bangladeshi medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period.MethodIn this web-based cross-sectional pilot study, medical students' data was collected using the Google Forms web survey platform after obtaining electronic informed consent. A total of 425 medical students were selected using a systematic sampling technique to accumulate depression symptoms and demographic and pandemic-related information. Depression was measured by a self-administered, validated English version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) tool. The descriptive analysis utilized frequency and percentages, while the stepwise binary logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the factors associated with depressive symptoms.ResultAmong 425 medical students, 62.3% were female, 97.4% unmarried. Almost 80.2% of medical students had mild to severe levels of depressive symptoms as characterized by PHQ-9. A significantly higher probability of depression was found amongst female students (adjusted OR = 1.8), those who struggled to stay away from social media (adjusted OR = 1.8), those who tried to be optimistic for maintaining better psychology (adjusted OR = 11.1), and those who always had a sleeping difficulty in the last 4 weeks (adjusted OR = 8.9).ConclusionA very high prevalence of depression symptoms among Bangladeshi medical students was found across the majority of socio-demographic variables. The alarming prevalence and associated factors of depression suggests the need for follow-intensity psychosocial interventions designed for medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic