Does psychological health of future doctors affects academic performance? unmasking the masked

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Psychological health of a medical student remains affected throughout the course. Medical education is usually seems to be associated with substantial extent of psychological morbidity. Thus, objective of the study was to collect data regarding depression, anxiety, and stress in 1st-year undergraduate medical students and to correlate it with their academic performance.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-two item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale questionnaire was administered to 1st-year medical students. First terminal marks scored by students were recorded. Data were statistically analyzed.RESULTS: The study confirmed that the amount of stress and depression was comparatively higher than anxiety. Incidence of stress was 53.007%, anxiety 36.05%, and depression 44.03%. Negative correlation was found between stress, anxiety, and depression with academic performance.CONCLUSION: There is a considerable amount of depression and stress in 1st-year medical students that had affected academic performance. To conclude, there is a need for early detection, counseling, and rehabilitation to minimize the academic loss and improve the quality of health care.