Methods:A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was carried out among dental students between January and March 2020. The Arabic version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used to assess depression, while suicidal ideation was assessed using three questions related to suicidal behaviors drawn from the literature.Results: A total of 218 participants completed the questionnaires. More than 40% of the participants experienced depression while the prevalence of suicidal ideation was 48.2%; around a third of the sample had suicidal ideation, and half of which made a suicidal attempt in the preceding year (p < 0.05). There was a lack of association between depression severity and suicidal ideation. Conclusion: A large proportion of dental students experienced depression and suicidal ideation. These findings invite in depth analysis of the causative and contributing factors for such high rates as well as ways for addressing them.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.