Prevalence of associated factors on depression during COVID 19 in students in a minority serving institution: A cross sectional study

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic changed the learning style of university students in the US, affecting their mental health of students. This study aims to understand the factors that influenced depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in the New Mexico State University (NMSU) student population. METHODS: A questionnaire assessing mental health and lifestyle factors was delivered to NMSU students by using Qualtrics(XM) software. Depression was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire- 9 (PHQ-9); depression was defined as a score ≥10. Single and multifactor logistic regression was performed using R software. RESULTS: This study determined that the prevalence of depression among female students was 72% and 56.30% among male students. Several covariates were significant for increased odds of depression in students, including decreased diet quality (OR: 5.126, 95% CI: 3.186–8.338), annual household income $10,000 - $20,000 (OR: 3.161, 95% CI: 1.444–7.423), increased alcohol consumption (OR: 2.362, 95% CI: 1.504–3.787), increased smoking (OR: 3.581, 95% CI:1.671–8.911), quarantining due to COVID (OR: 2.001, 95% CI: 1.348–2.976), and family member dying of COVID (OR: 1.916, 95% CI: 1.072–3.623). Covariates of being male (OR: 0.501, 95% CI: 0.324–0.776), married (OR: 0.499, 95% CI: 0.318–0.786), eating a balanced diet (OR: 0.472, 95% CI: 0.316–0.705), and sleeping 7–8 h per night (OR: 0.271, 95% CI: 0.175–0.417) were all protective factors for depression in NMSU students. LIMITATION: This is a cross-sectional study, and therefore, causation cannot be determined. CONCLUSION: Several factors regarding demographics, lifestyle, living arrangements, alcohol and tobacco use, sleeping behavior, family vaccination, and COVID status were significantly associated with depression in students during the COVID-19 pandemic.