The prevalence rate and associations of depressive symptoms and smoking among applied medical science students in a large university in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

AlFaris, Eiad; Irfan, Farhana; Amin, Hussein S; Qureshı, Riaz; AlMaflehi, Nasr; Batais, Mohammed Ali; Ahmed, Aly M.; Ponnamperuma, Gominda; AlQahtani, Saira Saeed; AlTurki, Abrar T; Abdulrahman, Amro K. Bin; Vleuten, Cees van der; Al-Faris, Heba

doi:10.4103/jnsm.jnsm_68_18

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Approximately 49% of the participants in this study reported elevated depressive symptoms. A study conducted in 2012-2013 in a large university in Saudi Arabia reported the prevalence of depressive symptoms to be 46% [24]. Thus, a slightly higher prevalence was observed in our sample.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 53%

Feelings, Behavioral Actions and Depressive Symptoms Related to COVID-19 among Undergraduates in Hail, Saudi Arabia

et al. 2021

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The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (COVID-19) outbreak has had a profound psychological impact on university undergraduates. Feelings, behavioral actions, and depressive symptoms related to COVID-19 in undergraduates in Hail, Saudi Arabia, were assessed using an online survey. Eighteen feelings and six behavioral acts were assessed. The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale was used to measure depressive symptomatology. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression techniques were used. The mean age of the participants (n = 418) was 20.2 years (standard deviation (SD) = 1.8 years), and 52.9% (n = 221) were males. Elevated levels of depressive symptoms were reported by 47.1% of male and 51.3% of female participants. Social isolation, loss of interest, obsessive monitoring of symptoms, concentration difficulties, recurrent negative thoughts, and worries about health services emerged as vital negative feelings related to COVID-19 that were expressed by the participants. Younger age (odds ratio (OR) = 0.636, confidence interval (CI) = 0.428–0.946) and coming from the middle-income category (OR = 0.388, CI = 0.151–0.994) were found to be protective factors against developing depressive symptoms. Frequent cleaning of hands, wearing masks when going out, and adherence to social distancing rules were practiced by 71.5% (95% CI = 67.2%–75.8%), 78.7% (95% CI = (74.4%–82.5%) and 66.0% (95% CI = (61.3%–70.5%) of the participants, respectively. These behavioral acts were not associated with the development of depressive symptoms. Although the practice of COVID-19 precautionary measures by the participants was satisfactory, nearly half of the participants reported depressive symptoms. Innovative educational strategies are needed to curb concentration difficulties and social isolation experienced by undergraduates during outbreaks such as COVID-19.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 53%

Feelings, Behavioral Actions and Depressive Symptoms Related to COVID-19 among Undergraduates in Hail, Saudi Arabia

et al. 2021

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“…The past ten years have seen a rise in interest in researching undergraduates' mental health; a 24-34% incidence of depressive symptoms was reported in the very early period 23 . Another study conducted in one of the large universities in Saudi Arabia during 2012-2013, reported prevalence of depressive symptoms was 46% before the pandemic 56 and was not much different from the current depression levels although studies were done with or without Covid-19. However, above 80% of depressive symptoms were evidenced in the Bangladesh undergraduates 50 than the current findings and 78.7% had depressive symptoms in the Jordan study 49 .…”

Section: Prevalence Of Stress Anxiety and Depressive Symptomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological disturbances encountered by selected undergraduates studying at the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka during the Covid-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

Kaushani,

Weeratunga

2023

Sci Rep

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University undergraduates are increasingly recognized as a vulnerable population with a higher level of psychological disturbances. During the Covid-19 pandemic, universities closed all over the world, resulting in the psychological well-being of this population being severely affected across the globe. This study examined the prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms encountered by undergraduates of the selected five faculties at the University of Ruhuna in Southern Sri Lanka due to the Covid-19 pandemic, its associated factors, and the correlations between stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. An online, cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted among undergraduates using pre-tested, self-administered questionnaires from the randomly selected five faculties: Allied Health Sciences, Engineering, Humanities and Social Sciences, Management and Finance, and Medicine. Undergraduates were invited to complete the Google Form. Socio-demographic details and a 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (21-DASS) were used for data collection. Stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms were evaluated using a Sinhala version of the 21-DASS scale. Ethical permission was granted by the Ethics Review Committee of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, University of Ruhuna. Among the 359 undergraduates, the majority were represented by females (62.1%). The mean age of the sample was 23.67 years (SD ± 1.6). Stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms were found to be prevalent in 53.7%, 41.8%, and 63.8% of undergraduates respectively. Younger and female undergraduates had more impact on psychological issues than their counterparts. It revealed a significant positive correlation between anxiety and depressive symptoms (r = 0.646, p < .001), anxiety and stress (r = 0.868, p < .001), and stress and anxiety (r = 0.786, p < .001). Most undergraduates experienced considerable levels of stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms during the Covid-19 as increasing stress, anxiety, or depressive symptoms, tend to increase all types of psychological disturbances. The development of mental health among undergraduates is essential and needs innovative strategies to improve the psychological well-being of undergraduates. The initiation of a stress management programme and expanded available counseling services are also important. Further studies are needed to be conducted on the extended topic of how the Covid-19 era is affecting the psychological well-being of undergraduates from different universities (state/non-state), locations, and different study departments.

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A Meta-Analytical Comparison of Depression Prevalence in GCC Countries

Camia,

Alhallami

2023

Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology

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The prevalence rate and associations of depressive symptoms and smoking among applied medical science students in a large university in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

Cited by 4 publications

References 4 publications

Feelings, Behavioral Actions and Depressive Symptoms Related to COVID-19 among Undergraduates in Hail, Saudi Arabia

Feelings, Behavioral Actions and Depressive Symptoms Related to COVID-19 among Undergraduates in Hail, Saudi Arabia

Psychological disturbances encountered by selected undergraduates studying at the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka during the Covid-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

A Meta-Analytical Comparison of Depression Prevalence in GCC Countries

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