Prevalence of depressive symptoms and associated factors among dental students: A cross sectional study

Abstract

Depression is a common mental health problem which affects all strata of life. As a result of the increase in competitiveness, there is a need to pay attention toward the presence and level of depression among students. The aim of the study was to assess the depressive symptoms and its associated factors among clinical dental students in Bengaluru city. A cross-sectional study was conducted among third and final years dental students (n = 200) randomly selected from four dental colleges in Bengaluru city. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess depressive symptoms using Beck’s Depression Inventory. Association of depression with non-academic and academic factors was assessed using the Chi-square test. Student’s t-test was used to compare mean depression scores among study years. P < 0.05 was considered as significant. The prevalence of depression was found to be 49%. Significantly higher proportion of females (57.0%) had depression compared to males (43.0%) (P = 0.04). Mean depression score was higher among final year dental students (16.10 ± 9.76) compared to third year (13.77 ± 6.85) (P = 0.05). Level of severity of depression was significantly associated with the year of study (P < 0.001). Among non-academic and academic factors; the problem with friends, medical illness, and lack of interest in the course, fear of failure, respectively, was significantly associated with depression. Depression was evident considerably among dental students. The prevalence of depression was higher among females and final year students.