Background/Aim. The mental health of medical students worsens during their
studies, and research shows that medical students are at high risk for
depression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of
depressive symptoms and to examine the association between various risk
factors and depressive symptoms among a sample of first and sixth-year
medical students at the University of Novi Sad. Methods. A cross-sectional
study was conducted at the Medical Faculty University of Novi Sad, Serbia.
The sample consisted of 308 students (213 students in the first year and 95
in the final year of study). The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was
used to measure depressive symptoms. Within this instrument, item 9 was used
to identify suicidal ideation. Self-esteem was evaluated with the Rosenberg
Self-Esteem Scale. Additional questions were focused on self-assessed
material status, lifestyle factors, and mental healthcare-seeking.
Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were applied.
Results. The prevalence of depressive episode among medical students was
16.6%. Almost 9% had thoughts of committing suicide. First-year students with
low self-esteem were almost seven times more likely to suffer from moderate
to severe depressive symptoms than those with high self-esteem. Students who
had used sleeping pills or sedatives without prescription were nearly five
times more likely to have a PHQ-9 score ?10 than those who had not (OR=4.97,
95%CI: 1.83-13.52). Six-year students with poor or average self-assessed
social relationships and low self-esteem had a stronger association with a
PHQ-9 score ?10. Conclusion. There is a high prevalence of depressive
episode among first and six-year medical students and is associated with low
self-esteem in both groups, use of sleeping or sedative pills without a
prescription among first-year and poor social health in six-year students.
We recommend routine screening for depression in medical students and
establishing prevention and intervention programs.
