Journal of Psychiatry

Abstract

Assessment of Depression among Applied Medical Science College Students at Taif University: A Questionnaire Survey

Rana G Zaini, Farah Anjum and Haytham Dahlawi

Psychological stress associated with depression is common among medical students and considered as an important indicator for mental health. Mental disorders might cause numerous undesirable personal and professional consequences such as; growing cynicism and social isolation. This study aimed to assess the degree of depression among undergraduate students in College of Applied Medical Sciences at Taif University. The presence and severity of depression was measured by using the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) scoring. The overall percentage of depression in the study is seen in 75.7% of the students, with major depression (Scores>15) found in 18.7% of students. The result of this study revealed the proportion of male and female students who had depression, to be 62% and 81.4% respectively and this difference showed statistical significance (P value<0.05). The highest percentage of students with major depression (moderately severe and severe) belonged to nursing department followed by radiological sciences, then laboratory department and lastly physical therapy, although there was no statistically significant difference found between these courses (P value>0.05). Interestingly, the percentage of students decreased sequentially as the depression severity score became higher.