Prevalence of depressive symptoms among first-year undergraduate students of government medical and engineering colleges in Thiruvananthapuram city
Background: Depression is a major health issue globally and is on par with lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension when it comes to morbidity. The first year in professional college is a critical transition period encompassing drastic biological, social, emotional, and academic changes...
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Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Asian Journal of Medical Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/AJMS/article/view/70527 |
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| author | Jisnu Janardhanan Rithwik Santhosh Ashoka Shafeen Hyder |
| author_facet | Jisnu Janardhanan Rithwik Santhosh Ashoka Shafeen Hyder |
| author_sort | Jisnu Janardhanan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Depression is a major health issue globally and is on par with lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension when it comes to morbidity. The first year in professional college is a critical transition period encompassing drastic biological, social, emotional, and academic changes which could be potential stressors for precipitating depressive symptoms.
Aims and Objectives: The current study aims to find the prevalence of depressive symptoms among 1st-year undergraduate students of Government medical and engineering colleges in Thiruvananthapuram city.
Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study included 88 medical students and 212 engineering students. Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was used to assess depressive symptoms, brief resilience scale to assess resilience, and CRAFFT 2.0 to screen for substance use. SPSS was used for the analysis of data; Chi-square test was used for the comparison of proportion and t-test for comparing means.
Results: 28% of total study subjects reported depressive symptoms. One in three medical students reported depressive symptoms while one in four engineering students reported depressive symptoms. Low resilience had negative association and history of substance use had positive association with the presence of depressive disorders.
Conclusion: A significant number of students in professional colleges have depressive symptoms, either diagnosed or undiagnosed. Steps can be taken in the direction of reducing academic distress, promoting extra-curricular activities, setting up student support programs in institutions, legal policies to limit substance misuse among students, and creating awareness about positive parenting styles which give adequate importance to self-care and being mindful. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-deac8b5ded144926bd4cf8f38c2d66c5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2467-9100 2091-0576 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Asian Journal of Medical Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-deac8b5ded144926bd4cf8f38c2d66c52024-12-05T04:40:32ZengManipal College of Medical Sciences, PokharaAsian Journal of Medical Sciences2467-91002091-05762024-12-0115128590https://doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v15i12.70527Prevalence of depressive symptoms among first-year undergraduate students of government medical and engineering colleges in Thiruvananthapuram cityJisnu Janardhanan 0https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9651-4979Rithwik Santhosh 1https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2607-9319Ashoka 2https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0289-0316Shafeen Hyder 3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9896-2491Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Moopen’s Medical College, Wayanad, Kerala, India Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Moopen’s Medical College, Wayanad, Kerala, India Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Basaveshwara Medical College and Hospital, Chitradurga, Karnataka, India Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Moopen’s Medical College, Wayanad, Kerala, India Background: Depression is a major health issue globally and is on par with lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension when it comes to morbidity. The first year in professional college is a critical transition period encompassing drastic biological, social, emotional, and academic changes which could be potential stressors for precipitating depressive symptoms. Aims and Objectives: The current study aims to find the prevalence of depressive symptoms among 1st-year undergraduate students of Government medical and engineering colleges in Thiruvananthapuram city. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study included 88 medical students and 212 engineering students. Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was used to assess depressive symptoms, brief resilience scale to assess resilience, and CRAFFT 2.0 to screen for substance use. SPSS was used for the analysis of data; Chi-square test was used for the comparison of proportion and t-test for comparing means. Results: 28% of total study subjects reported depressive symptoms. One in three medical students reported depressive symptoms while one in four engineering students reported depressive symptoms. Low resilience had negative association and history of substance use had positive association with the presence of depressive disorders. Conclusion: A significant number of students in professional colleges have depressive symptoms, either diagnosed or undiagnosed. Steps can be taken in the direction of reducing academic distress, promoting extra-curricular activities, setting up student support programs in institutions, legal policies to limit substance misuse among students, and creating awareness about positive parenting styles which give adequate importance to self-care and being mindful.https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/AJMS/article/view/70527students; depressive; resilience; substance |
| spellingShingle | Jisnu Janardhanan Rithwik Santhosh Ashoka Shafeen Hyder Prevalence of depressive symptoms among first-year undergraduate students of government medical and engineering colleges in Thiruvananthapuram city Asian Journal of Medical Sciences students; depressive; resilience; substance |
| title | Prevalence of depressive symptoms among first-year undergraduate students of government medical and engineering colleges in Thiruvananthapuram city |
| title_full | Prevalence of depressive symptoms among first-year undergraduate students of government medical and engineering colleges in Thiruvananthapuram city |
| title_fullStr | Prevalence of depressive symptoms among first-year undergraduate students of government medical and engineering colleges in Thiruvananthapuram city |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence of depressive symptoms among first-year undergraduate students of government medical and engineering colleges in Thiruvananthapuram city |
| title_short | Prevalence of depressive symptoms among first-year undergraduate students of government medical and engineering colleges in Thiruvananthapuram city |
| title_sort | prevalence of depressive symptoms among first year undergraduate students of government medical and engineering colleges in thiruvananthapuram city |
| topic | students; depressive; resilience; substance |
| url | https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/AJMS/article/view/70527 |
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