Depression among medical students in Alexandria, Egypt

BACKGROUND: Depression is a common illness worldwide with high rate among medical students. The objectives were to estimate the prevalence of depression among medical students in Alexandria, and identify its correlates. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was used. The study was conducted at the Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University. Using a systematic random sampling technique, 390 students attending 4(th), 5(th), and 6(th) academic years were included. Data was collected using the Arabic version of the BDI-II and a predesigned structured self-administered questionnaire, including questions about the students' personal and social characteristics and academic environment. RESULTS: Moderate and severe depression accounted for 27.9% and 17.2%, respectively. Logistic regression analysis results showed that the independent predictors for moderate and severe depression were female gender, the presence of mental illness, not having someone to talk to when under stress, experiencing stressful life event(s) during the previous 6 months, not being satisfied with the socioeconomic level, reporting that the surrounding environment is not suitable for studying, not specifying a grade to achieve, and extreme dissatisfaction with the student's result. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of moderate and severe depression was high among medical students, calling for actions to help those students and to prevent new cases.