Depression among Medical versus Non-Medical Students in Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah Al-Mukaramah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Depression is a worldwide health problem affecting people who have a stressful life like medical students. Objectives: of the study is to estimate the depression rate and levels among medical versus non-medical students in Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah Al-Mukaramah, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study based on Beck's Depression Inventory Questionnaire was conducted on a representative sample of medical and non-medical students of Umm Al-Qura University. The sample was randomly selected from both males and females of College of Medicine and two randomly selected non-medical colleges (College of Islamic Studies and College of Engineering & Islamic Architecture). The male students were 103, 107 and 95 however the females students were 77 and 70 respectively. Results: The study illustrated a higher rate of depression among males than females (31.2% versus 26.4% respectively). The levels of depression among males were near each other in the Colleges of Medicine and Engineering (36.9% and 34.8% respectively), while it was the lowest in College of Islamic Studies (22.7%). On the other hand, the rate was 31.1% and 21.1% among female students of College of Medicine and College of Islamic Studies respectively. So, both male and female medical students have the highest rate of depression. Conclusion: The biopsychosocial health of medical students is our concern. Thus, the study recommends improving the methods of teaching, creating a motivational learning environment and initiating stress management strategies to overcome the occurrence of depression.