Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among medical students in a developing country during the COVID-19 pandemic: A pilot study

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to significantly affect the mental health of Medical professionals as well as Medical students, as they stand in the frontline during this hour of crisis. Aims: The aim is to assess mental health of undergraduate medical students and particularly in relation to the prevalence of anxiety, depression and stress in a Medical College of Eastern India. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional pilot study was conducted in a Medical College of Eastern India after taking Institutional clearance and informed consent of the subjects. Three hundred and nine-two subjects participated in the present study. A link was created with the help of a Google form with depression, anxiety and stress scale-21 and demographic variables. The students were also asked to give a feedback on the online teaching program provided by the college. Statistical Analysis: Data were tabulated into excel sheet and analysis was done. Results: Among the 392 subjects who participated in the study 278 (70.92') subjects had normal stress scores, i.e., between 0 and 14; 114 (28.97') had stress score 15 or more; 6 (1.5') had stress scores 34+ (extremely severe stress), 14 (3.5') had stress scores between 26 and 33 (severe stress), 29 (7.39') had stress scores between 19 and 25 (moderate stress), 65 (16.58') had scores between 15 and 18 (mild stress). Two hundred and sixty-three (67.091') had normal anxiety scores between 0 and 7; 129 (32.9') had anxiety scores 8 or more. 15 (3.82') had anxiety score 20+ (extremely severe anxiety); 11 (2.81') had anxiety scores between 15 and 19 (severe anxiety); 64 (16.33') had anxiety scores between 10 and 14 (moderate anxiety); 39 (9.85') had anxiety scores between 8 and 9 (mild anxiety). Two hundred and sixteen (55.11') had normal depression scores between 0 and 9; 176 (44.89') had depression scores 10 or more. 24 (6.1') had depression score 28+ (extremely severe anxiety); 23 (5.86') had depression scores between 21 and 27 (severe depression); 70 (17.85') had depression scores between 14 and 20 (moderate depression); 59 (15.05') had depression scores between 10 and 13 (mild depression). Depression and stress scores were positively correlated with r = 0.765; depression and anxiety scores were positively correlated with r = 0.63; stress and anxiety scores were positively correlated with r = 0.73.77.4' of the students felt that during the lockdown period online support, regular assessment, feedback provided by the college were satisfactory. Conclusions: High scores of depression, stress and anxiety were observed among Medical students in this pilot cross sectional study. Longitudinal follow-up is necessary to study the impact of the present crisis on medical students.