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Prevalence and Socio-Demographic Correlates of Mental Health Problems Among Iranian Health Sciences Students
- Source :
- Academic psychiatry : the journal of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and the Association for Academic Psychiatry. 44(1)
- Publication Year :
- 2019
-
Abstract
- The primary objective of the present study was to compare the mental health status of Iranian medical vs other health sciences students and to examine how demographic factors relate to their mental health problems. A total of 560 medical and other health sciences students (250 (44.6%) males and 310 (55.4%) females) were recruited from Iran University of Medical Sciences. Data were obtained by self-administered questionnaire, including questions on socio-demographic characteristics. The Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, General Health Questionnaire, and WHO well-being index were used to assess mental health status of students. Ten percent of students had BDI scores consistent with clinically significant depression (6.6% mild, 1.8% moderate, 1.6% severe), and 28.7% had BAI scores consistent with clinically significant anxiety (20.7% mild, 7.1% moderate, 0.9% severe). Kurdish students had an odds ratio (OR) of 2.71 (95% CL, 1.22–6.02) for mild to severe depression symptoms when compared to Persian students. The prevalence of distressed health sciences students and poor psychological well-being was 13.4% and 14.1%, respectively. Maternal education gave an OR of 0.57 (0.35–0.93) for anxiety symptoms, after adjustment for all other factors. The possibility of general psychiatric morbidity was significantly lower in students who studied medicine (OR, 0.40 (0.21–0.71)). Being born in the capital city was associated with better psychological well-being (OR, 0.48 (0.26–0.86)). Ethnicity, birthplace, discipline, and maternal educational level were major determinants of mental health status among health sciences students. Further research should be undertaken to determine the prevalence of psychological disorders using more reliable diagnostic interview.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Male
Students, Health Occupations
Students, Medical
020205 medical informatics
Universities
Urban Population
Beck Anxiety Inventory
education
02 engineering and technology
Anxiety
Iran
Education
03 medical and health sciences
Young Adult
0302 clinical medicine
0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering
Prevalence
Medicine
Humans
030212 general & internal medicine
Depression (differential diagnoses)
business.industry
Depression
Beck Depression Inventory
General Medicine
Odds ratio
Mental health
Psychiatry and Mental health
Socioeconomic Factors
Female
General Health Questionnaire
medicine.symptom
business
Stress, Psychological
Biomedical sciences
Clinical psychology
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15457230
- Volume :
- 44
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Academic psychiatry : the journal of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and the Association for Academic Psychiatry
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....40d4e0a5987a3990bde785be3d7007f8