Prevalence of depression in students of a medical college in New Delhi: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundMedical education is associated with various pressures andstresses which can lead to depression. This study wasundertaken to discover the prevalence of depression inmedical students and various factors contributing todepression.MethodThis is a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study. Usingstratified random sampling, 237 students were selectedaccording to year of study. Patient Health Questionnaire(PHQ-9), based on PRIME-MD Today, was used to make aprovisional diagnosis of depression.ResultsThe overall prevalence of provisionally diagnosed depressiveand major depressive disorder using PHQ-9 was 21.5% and7.6%, respectively. Year of study and academic performanceof students had a statistically significant association withdepression. Other factors, including gender, self-reported pasthistory of depression, family history of psychiatric disorders,type of social support, family structure, number of siblings andeducation of parents were not found to have any significantassociation with prevalence of depression in the study. It wasalso observed that students were reluctant to seek help fordepressive symptoms.