Association of anxiety and depression among health specialties students with GERD in Makkah city, kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: The correlation between psychological factors and digestive abnormalities is significant yet, the full mechanism still undetermined. Objectives: Our study aimed to study the correlation between anxiety, depression, and GERD among health specialties students in Makkah city, Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methods: a survey-based study was demonstrated among health-related students in different medical colleges at Umm Al-Qura University in the period time between December 2020 until January 2021. GERD symptom frequency was evaluated using a previously validated gastroesophageal reflux symptom questionnaire GERD-Q; however, depressive and anxious symptoms were assessed using a Hospital Anxiety/Depression Scale (HADS). Result: A total of 353 students participated in the current study. The mean age of participants in the present study was 22.69 ± 2.27. 215 (60.9%) participants were male, and 138 (39.1%) were female. The majority of respondents were 2nd-year students. There is a significant correlation between anxiety and depression among students with GERD (P-value, 0.001), (P-value, 0.017), respectively. Conclusions: Depression and anxiety represent a significant factor in correlation with students with GERD.