Dataset Information

Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression Among Medical Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

The Covid-19 pandemic is a public health emergency with both physical and mental health risks. Medical students have baseline elevated rates of anxiety, depression and burnout. As such, they may be especially susceptible to the psychological stresses of Covid-19. The current study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of anxiety and depression among United States medical students during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Methods

A cross-sectional, survey-based study collected demographic data as well as the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to assess anxiety and depression symptoms, respectively. The survey was administered from April 13, 2020 to April 28, 2020 amidst the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Results

A total of 1,428 students from 40 US medical schools completed the survey. From those surveyed, 30.6% and 24.3% of respondents screened positive for anxiety and depression, respectively. Median GAD-7 scores were higher among females (7.0 vs 5.0, P?P?P=.001). Median PHQ-9 scores were higher among females (6.0 vs 4.0, P?P?ConclusionWhen compared to previous medical student studies, these results are 61% higher for anxiety and 70% higher for depression during the Covid-19 era. The current study suggests that there should be a heightened awareness of and sensitivity to student's mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic with certain cohorts at greater potential risk.

SUBMITTER: Halperin SJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7890732 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression Among Medical Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Halperin Scott J SJ Henderson Matthew N MN Prenner Sofia S Grauer Jonathan N JN

Journal of medical education and curricular development 20210101

<h4>Purpose</h4>The Covid-19 pandemic is a public health emergency with both physical and mental health risks. Medical students have baseline elevated rates of anxiety, depression and burnout. As such, they may be especially susceptible to the psychological stresses of Covid-19. The current study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of anxiety and depression among United States medical students during the Covid-19 pandemic.<h4>Methods</h4>A cross-sectional, survey-based study collected demographic d ...[more]

PMID: 33644399

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundPrevious studies showed that the COVID-19 outbreak increased the levels of depression and anxiety in heterogeneous populations. However, none has explored the prevalence and correlates of depression and anxiety among Chinese international students studying in US colleges during the pandemic.ObjectiveThis study examines the prevalence of depression and anxiety among Chinese international students enrolled in US universities during the COVID-19 pandemic and identifies the associated factors, including habits, social and psychological support, sleep quality, and remote learning.MethodsBetween June and July 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional study through Wenjuanxing, a web-based survey platform. Participants were recruited with snowball sampling through 21 Chinese international student associations in US universities. The survey consisted of demographic questions, the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and self-constructed questions on academic performance, financial concerns, use of social media, physical exercise, and psychological support. Cut-off scores of 10 were used for both PHQ-9 and GAD-7 to determine the binary outcomes of depression and anxiety, respectively. Bivariant analyses and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the associated factors.ResultsAmong 1881 participants, we found a prevalence of depression (PHQ-9 score⩾ 10) at 24.5% and that of anxiety (GAD-7 score⩾ 10) at 20.7%. A higher risk of depression was associated with recent exposure to traumatic events, agreement to pandemic's negative impacts on financial status, agreement and strong agreement to the negative impacts of remote learning on personal relationships, and a higher ISI score. A lower risk of depression was associated with disagreement to the negative impacts of remote learning on academic performance and future careers, strong willingness to seek professional help with emotional issues, and a higher SSRS score. In addition, a higher risk of anxiety was associated with recent exposure to traumatic events, a lot of workloads, often staying up for online classes, agreement and strong agreement to the negative impacts of remote learning on personal relationships, and a higher ISI score. A lower risk of anxiety was associated with the willingness and strong willingness to seek professional help with emotional issues, and a higher SSRS score.ConclusionThis study showed a high prevalence of depression and anxiety among Chinese international students studying in US colleges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Multiple correlates-including recent exposure to traumatic events, pandemic-related financial concerns, workload, social support, remote learning, willingness to seek professional help, and sleep quality-were identified. It is critical for future studies to further investigate this student population and for universities to provide more flexible learning options and more access to psychological services.

Project description:Background Medical students have higher risk of psychological disorders due to the relatively stressful environment. Educators are becoming increasingly aware of the impact of stresses on the students general well-being. The objective of the current study was to examine the prevalence of and risk factors for depressive and anxiety symptoms among first-year and fifth-year medical students. Additionally, we aimed to determine whether the COVID-19 pandemic has affected students’ mental well-being. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed at the College of Medicine at King Saud University between September 2020 and January 2021. The target population was first-year and fifth-year medical students. Depressive symptoms were screened using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), while anxiety symptoms were screened using the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder assessment (GAD-7). Students were also directly asked about the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on their mental well-being. Outcomes were compared between groups using the chi-squared test and Student’s t test. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms. Results A total of 182 medical students were included. Depressive symptoms (52.9% versus 35.8%, p = 0.020) and anxiety symptoms (35.6% versus 26.3%, p = 0.176) were higher in the first-year students than in the fifth-year students. Approximately 19.2% of the students were worried about acquiring COVID-19, 49.4% were worried about academic performance, and 30.8% were feeling sad, depressed or anxious during the COVID-19 pandemic. Independent risk factors for depressive symptoms included having concomitant anxiety, being worried about acquiring COVID-19, being worried about academic performance, and feeling sad, depressed or anxious. Independent risk factors for anxiety included having a lower grade point average and having concomitant depressive symptoms. Conclusion Medical students have an alarmingly high prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms, which might have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a need for a special mental health program targeting new and current medical students. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-023-04387-x.

Dataset Information

Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression Among Medical Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Purpose

Methods

Results

Publications

Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression Among Medical Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets