Mental Health Problems among Medical Students during COVID-19 Lockdown: A Cross- Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: COVID-19, which originated in China, became a pandemic affecting more than 180 countries. By April 2020, India had announced lockdown in an attempt to control the spread of the virus. Lack of social interaction and apprehension about the studies had created emotional disturbances among medical students. Methods: The study was done in a medical college situated in Central Travancore, Kerala, between 2020 April 20 to May 31. Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) and Impact Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) were administered in Google forms to the MBBS batch WhatsApp groups. Results: Out of 320 responses from medical students, 239 were females, and 82 were male students. 56% of male students and 54% of female students have mild to severe depressive symptoms, 58% of male students and 54% of female students have symptoms of anxiety, and 63% of male students and 50% of female students experienced mild to severe stress.68% of males and 62% of females have higher Impact events scale. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of anxiety and depression among medical students during the COVID lockdown period. There is a significant difference between genders in scores of anxiety, stress and impact of events. This shows the need for resilience training among medical students.

The prevalence of anxiety and depression among MBBS students in the medical colleges in Thrissur district, Kerala during the shutdown of colleges due to the COVID-19 pandemic

“…27 The prevalence of anxiety and depression in medical students during the pandemic was assessed in some countries and various parts of India and these studies demonstrated a high prevalence for both anxiety and. 18,20,22,24,32,33 The study conducted in the Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi in April 2020 showed prevalence of anxiety and depression among 9.8% and 7.3% of the participants which was relatively low compared to our study and other studies. 19 Our study was able to conclude that anxiety and depression was prevalent in the medical student fraternity.…”

“…26 Multiple studies concluded that completion of their course, future studies, and employment were a major concern among medical students. 20,23,24 So, its pivotal to assess the mental health of the medical students their knowledge of mental illnesses during these testing times and hopefully support the findings of the previously conducted studies in order to raise awareness towards the mental health of medical students and the whole student body in general. The evidence thus generated can also be used to create supportive mental health care institutional structures for medical students.…”

“…18,19 Fear of contracting COVID-19 infection, concerns about family members' health, overwhelming amount of information present on social media and quarantine, selfisolation and social distancing norms have all been found to be negatively impacting the mental health of medical students. 13,[20][21][22][23][24][25] Despite the initiation of alternative teaching methods like online classes, the apprehension of these students on various matters like effectiveness of the alternative teaching methods, conduct of examinations, and completion of the course could be on the rise. A study conducted among Caribbean medical students found out that alternative teaching methods are not considered effective compared to physical offline classes.…”