Prevalence of psychological stress, depression and anxiety among medical students in Egypt

• Published in: Psychiatry research 2017-09, Vol.255, p.186-194
• Main Authors: Fawzy, Mohamed, Hamed, Sherifa A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Anxiety - diagnosis; Anxiety - epidemiology; Anxiety - psychology; Cross-Sectional Studies; DASS 21; Depression - diagnosis; Depression - epidemiology; Depression - psychology; Egypt - epidemiology; Female; Humans; Male; Mental Health; Prevalence; Sleeping quality; Stress; Stress, Psychological - diagnosis; Stress, Psychological - epidemiology; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Students, Medical - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires - standards; Undergraduate medical students; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0165-1781; 1872-7123
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.05.027

Poor psychological health in medical students has been reported nationwide. This study estimated the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms among medical students who were enrolled in a public university in Upper Egypt and determine the association of these morbidities with the students' basic socio-demographic variables. This cross-sectional study included 700 students. A self-administered, questionnaire for the socio-demographic characteristics, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS 21) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire were used for assessment. High frequencies of depression (65%), anxiety (73%) and stress (59.9%) were reported. Stress scores were significantly higher than depression and anxiety (P=0.001). 55.7% were poor sleepers. In univarate analysis, females, those living in the University campus/students' residence facility, in the preclinical years and with lower academic achievement had higher scores of DASS and PSQI compared to their comparative partners. Significant correlations were reported between stress with depression, anxiety and PQSI scores (P=0.0001). In multivariate analysis, stress scores were significantly associated with female sex, depression and anxiety scores. We conclude that depression, anxiety and stress symptoms are common in medical students of Assiut University relative to other schools and female gender was significantly correlated with these findings. •Data of psychological health of Egyptian undergraduate medical students are scarce.•High prevalence of psychological stress is present among Egyptian undergraduate students.•A female sex is a strong predictor of stress, depression and anxiety among Egyptian students.•In multivariate analysis, depression and anxiety are the main factors which increase stress.