Depression in medical students during the COVID-19 lockdown in Greece

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a mental health crisis. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of depression in medical students in Greece during a nationwide lockdown. The secondary aims were to assess the association of depression with socio-demographic factors and students' attitudes regarding the quality of their studies. The data was gathered anonymously through a self-administered online questionnaire between January 11 and 27, 2021. The CES-D scale was used to measure depression rates. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify factors independently associated with depression. In total, 978 sixth-and fifth-year medical students participated; their mean age was 23.2 years and 65.6% were females. The prevalence of clinical depression was 21.3% (95% CI: 18.7%, 24.0%), whereas 17.9% (95% CI: 15.5%, 20.4%) experienced severe distress. Depression was more prevalent in females (25.4% vs 13.1% in males, p<0.001). Approximately half (53.4%) of the participants reported a change in plans regarding their medical career due to the pandemic and 16.9% expressed a decreased willingness to practice medicine. Factors independently associated with depression were female gender, living alone or with housemates at high risk for COVID-19, being anxious about becoming infected with SARS-CoV-2, studying in one of the three largest medical schools, negatively evaluating the adjustment of the teaching personnel to online teaching and the university's response to the pandemic. The findings of this study report depression in one out of five medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the need to protect the most vulnerable medical students during a pandemic. Medical students must be able to seek professional mental health services, even in the era of a pandemic. Universities should increase accessibility to support services and provide a student-centered approach in their strategies, as the pandemic has placed a spotlight on an existing phenomenon.

Prevalence of depressive tendencies among college students and the influence of attributional styles on depressive tendencies in the post-pandemic era

“…Additionally, previous research has found an increased prevalence of negative psychological symptoms among healthcare workers ( 44 , 45 ). Owing to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, various activities of college students, such as social interactions and physical exercise, have been restricted, which may also increase their tendency toward depression ( 46 , 47 ). Our results also confirm that seniority, profession of medicine and allied health sciences, physical health status, and social interactions are associated with a higher tendency toward depression, which indirectly reflects the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on depressive tendencies.…”