Determinants of depression among medical students in two medical schools from South East Nigeria: A screening test

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to assess the susceptibility of depression among clinical students from two medical schools from South East Nigeria, using a screening test questionnaire.

Methods: A total of 352 clinical medical students from two universities were enrolled by simple random sampling. A pretested self‑administered depression questionnaire was used to evaluate degrees of depression among the participants.

Result: Out of the 352 students studied, 14 (4%) of the students are susceptible to moderate to severe depression while none are susceptible to mild depression.
Among the students, gender and age were not significantly associated with depression (χ² = 2.896; P = 0.089). Socioeconomic class of the students was not significantly associated with depression (χ² = 2.186; P = 0.335).

Conclusion: A relatively low number of medical students are susceptible to depression. Depression among medical students is unaffected by gender, age, and socioeconomic class.

Keywords: Depression, depression questionnaire, medical student, Nigeria