Depression among Medical Students of a Medical College in Nepal during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: Depression is a common mental disorder. Medical school is a stressful environment. The outbreak of COVID-19 has added to the plight of medical students. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of depression among medical students of a medical college in Nepal during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students of a medical college in Nepal from August 2020 to September 2020. The sample size of our study was 223. A convenient sampling method was adopted for the selection of respondents. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Committee (Reference no:321). The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. The study instrument consisted of the Patient Health Questionnaire and socio-demographic information. RESULTS: Out of 223 participants, the prevalence of depression was seen among 52 (23.3%) (17.7-28.9 at 95% Confidence Interval) students in our study. Among them, 25 (48.1%) females and 27 (51.9%) males were depressed. The prevalence of depression was higher in preclinical years (first and second year) than in clinical years (third, fourth and final year). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of depression among medical students in Nepal during the pandemic was less than the findings of similar studies conducted in Nepal before the pandemic. Further studies are required to get more knowledge about the factors associated with mental health of medical students.