Prevalence and correlates of depression with health and demographic characteristics of medical students

Abstract

Introduction: Depression has an estimated prevalence of 7.6% (11.2 million) in Brazilians aged, 18 years and over. It is more common in women. As for university students, this number reaches the range of 15% to 25%; however, among medical students, the rates range from 30 to 60%. Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of depression and to correlate it with health and demographic characteristics of medical students of a university in the interior of the Northeastern Brazil. Patients and Methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach of 138 medical students from the Faculdades Integradas de Patos (76.7% of the research universe), using the Beck Depression Inventory, and performing correlations with IBM SPSS Statistics software. Data collection was carried out only after approval of the project by the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculdades Integradas de Patos - CAAE: 56479516.8.0000.5181/Process Number: 1.582.097/2016. Results: This study demonstrated that the prevalence of depression among medical students is 52.8%, with the following rates: mild (39.1%), moderate (12.3%) and severe (1.4%). Higher depression scores were found among women (r = 0.24, p < 0.01), those who did not have a scholarship (r = 0.27, p < 0.01), among students who considered quitting the course (r = 0.48, p < 0.01) and those who already had to take medication because the course (r = 0.24, p < 0.01). Conclusions: The study indicated a mild depressive clinical picture among students, signaling the need for urgent interventions.