FREQUENCY OF DEPRESSION WITH PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCE USE AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Depression is a common Psychiatirc ailment among medical students.There is increasing awareness about the co-occurrence of psychoactive substance use and depression.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of depression among medical students and elucidate its relationship with the use of psychoactive substances.
METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on medical students of KMU Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Kohat, Pakistan, from 1st April to 20th August 2011. Standard psychiatric assessment tools were used for diagnosing depression, assessing its severity and determining related co-morbidities among the study participants. Screening tests were employed to investigate the use of psychoactive substance use and the average daily doses were calculated.
RESULTS: A total of 226 students were interviewed of whom 52 (23%) were found to be using psychoactive substances. A total of 82 (36.3%) students were found to have depression. There frequency among the psychoactive substance users (57.7%) was significantly higher (p-value <.001) than in the non-users (29.9%). An increased propensity of depression for male gender was identified in the current study. Among those with depression, majority (n = 49) had major depressive episodes.
CONCLUSION: It was concluded that a significant proportion of medical students are indulged in psychoactive substance use. The use of these substances is associated with a 1.9 times higher frequency of depression than nonÂusers among medical students. There is a higher propensity of depression for male gender in the source population.
KEY WORDS: Medical students, Depression, Psychoactive substance
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