Depression, sleeping pattern, and suicidal ideation among medical students in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional pilot study

Abstract

Background Depression is a major morbidity and the most common mental disorder among the medical students in medical schools globally. Undergraduate students suffer stress more due to their academic curriculum than the students of other faculties. In low-resource settings like Bangladesh, there is a dearth in research on the mental health of undergraduate medical students. This pilot study was conducted to add to the existing limited evidence by reporting the prevalence of depression and describing sleeping pattern and suicidal tendencies among medical students. Relevantly, we have investigated the overall mental health status among the medical students in Bangladesh. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in two medical colleges of Dhaka between July 2013 and December 2013, among 221 Bangladeshi medical students from first to fifth year. By the convenience sampling technique, data were collected by a pretested, structured, self-administered questionnaire and analysis was done by SPSS version 18.0. Depression was assessed by the validated Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) tool among the respondents. Goldberg's General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) was used for assessing overall mental health status. Results Depression was found in 38.9% of participants, with 3.6%, 14.5%, and 20.8% being severe, moderate, and mild depression, respectively. 17.6% of medical students had suicidal tendency or attempted suicide at least once after attending medical school. The sleeping hours were inadequate and altered after starting this stressful academic course. 33.5% of medical students had poor mental health status. There was a statistically significant association between poor mental health status in the age group less than 22 years old and initial academic study year (1st to 3rd of MBBS). Conclusion The findings are suggestive of a higher prevalence of depression among early-year medical students and marginal predominance in males. Suicidal tendency is also higher. This calls for further investigation with situation analysis, qualitative explorations, and surveys to explore the burden of such disorders in Bangladesh.

Depressive symptoms associated with loneliness and physical activities among graduate university students in Bangladesh: findings from a cross-sectional pilot study

“…The prevalence of depressive symptoms was found to be consistent with the previous studies in Bangladesh among university students [ 16 ], job-seeking graduate students [ 43 ] and medical students [ 27 , 44 ]. But the prevalence of depression in this study is lower than the finding from a study among Bangladeshi first-year university students that used the PHQ-9 scale to assess the level of depression [ 15 ].…”

“…The present study obtained a significant association concerning (i) short sleep time and depressive symptoms (ii) low physical activity and depressive symptoms. This compares with recent Bangladeshi studies [ 15 , 16 , 27 ] who reported that students engaged in lower physical activity and having poor sleeping habit were more likely to be depressed than those engaging in regular physical exercise and having normal total sleep time. .…”

“…In low-resource settings like Bangladesh, there is a dearth of research on the mental health of university students. Previous studies in Bangladesh have shown that the prevalence of depression was 69.5% and 39% respectively among university and medical students, with unsatisfactory sleep quality, suicidal ideation and lack of physical activity being the major risk factors for depression [ 15 , 27 ]. But no study described the relationship between depression and loneliness in the country.…”

Depression among the Non-Native International Undergraduate Students Studying Dentistry in Bangladesh

“…Globally, medical and dental schooling is perceived as a highly stressful education, where students face a higher level of stress, anxiety, and depression compared to peers studying other subjects [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]. In particular, research shows that dental students are prone to higher burnouts compared to medical students as it involves patient interaction during both theoretical and clinical course elements [ 12 ].…”

Is depression a concern among medical students: a cross sectional study in different academic years of a private medical college in Bangladesh

“…While one study revealed the cumulative depression rate was 39%, another one found 81% only among 1st year students. 4,5 So, more studies need to be undertaken to determine the prevalence and identify the responsible factors so that students can be quickly screened, assessed and dealt accordingly to avoid short and long term consequences.…”