Mental Health Status Among Iranian Medical University Students: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: Mental health status of university students is a critical issue due to its essential role in students’ academic performance. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the mental health status of first-year students at Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in 2020. Methods: All first-year students of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences entered this cross-sectional study through census sampling. Two Questionnaires, the Goldberg’s General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) as a screening instrument, and a researcher-made questionnaire were used to collect demographic information. After data collection, the chi-square test and logistic regression coefficient were applied to analyze the data at a significance level of 0.05. Results: The results showed that out of 875 students, 170 cases (19.4%) suffered from mental disorders, including depressed mood (93.5%) and anxiety attack (22%) as the most and least common disorders, respectively. Fitting the logistic regression model revealed that the highest educational degree (P<0.001, medical residency), admission quotas other than the free quota (P=0.03), high (P=0.04) and low (P=0.01) financial status, and fathers’ unemployment (P=0.04) increased the chance of mental health disorders. Conclusion: Due to the high rate and negative consequences of mental health problems in university students, it is recommended that university counseling centers provide services for students with a focus on coping with more frequent mental disorders. Finally, it is suggested they have yearly follow-up surveys to recognize the effects of the university environment and different conducted programs on the students’ mental status.