The association between tobacco use and depression among medical students at King Saud University

Abstract

Objective: To assess the association between tobacco use and depression among medical students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed between September, 2020 and April, 2021 using a self-administered questionnaire, distributed to 390 enrolled medical students at King Saud University. Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) instrument was used to assess depressive symptoms. Smoking status and sociodemographic details were also documented. Results: Out of 390 participants, 24.4% (n = 94) participants had depressive symptoms. Based on smoking status, majority of the study participants were non-smokers (88.9%), while only (11.1%) were current smokers, and out of non-smokers, (3.5%) were former smokers (n=12). The prevalence of depressive symptoms among smokers was 30.2% (n=13). The study showed that current smokers were 1.4 times more likely to have depressive symptoms than nonsmokers, the overall Beck's depression Inventory score for all study participants was 11. Based on this, it was categorized as mild mood disturbance. However, this association was not statistically significant (p value= 0.34). Students in the first year had the highest BDI scores, and the students in the fourth year had the lowest BDI scores. Conclusion: The prevalence of depressive symptoms among medical students was 24.4% (n= 94). The association between depression and smoking was not statistically significant. Further studies with larger sample size are needed to explore this association among medical students. Medical universities are encouraged to provide adequate psychosocial support for their students including culturally appropriate programs.