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©The Author(s) 2023.
World J Psychiatry. Oct 19, 2023; 13(10): 772-783
Published online Oct 19, 2023. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v13.i10.772
Published online Oct 19, 2023. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v13.i10.772
Table 1 Characteristics of study participants (n = 1138) (university year 2017/2018), n (%)
| Characteristic | mean ± SD | |
| Age, yr | 22 (2.347) (min 18, max 37) | |
| Gender | Female | 888 (78) |
| Male | 250 (22) | |
| Faculty | Monastir | 304 (26.7) |
| Sousse | 248 (21.8) | |
| Sfax | 163 (14.3) | |
| Tunis | 423 (37.2) | |
| Grade | Year 1 | 252 (22.1) |
| Year 2 | 196 (17.2) | |
| Year 3 | 198 (17.4) | |
| Year 4 | 171 (15) | |
| Year 5 | 321 (28.2) | |
| Marital status | Single | 837 (73.6) |
| Engaged | 269 (23.6) | |
| Married | 29 (2.5) | |
| Divorced | 3 (0.3) | |
| Alone | 193 (17) | |
| With friends/roommates | 220 (19.3) | |
| Academic residency | 127 (11.2) | |
| Family home | 598 (52.5) | |
| Socio-economic level | Low | 71 (6.2) |
| Moderate | 921 (80.9) | |
| High | 146 (12.8) | |
| Children | Yes | 23 (2) |
| No | 1115 (98) | |
| History of medical illness | Yes | 173 (15.2) |
| No | 965 (84.8) | |
| History of mental illness | Yes | 79 (6.9) |
| No | 1059 (93.1) | |
| Leisure activities | Yes | 349 (30.7) |
| No | 789 (69.3) | |
| Physical activities | Yes | 322 (28.3) |
| No | 816 (71.7) | |
| Smoking habits | Yes | 160 (14.1) |
| No | 978 (85.9) | |
| Drinking habits | Yes | 183 (16.1) |
| No | 955 (83.9) | |
| Are you satisfied with your career choice? | Yes | 619 (54.4) |
| No | 519 (45.6) | |
| Have you ever thought of dropping out of medical studies? | Yes | 664 (58.3) |
| No | 474 (41.7) | |
| Stress management training | Yes | 158 (13.9) |
| No | 980 (86.1) | |
| Have you ever visited a psychiatrist? | Yes | 228 (20) |
| No | 910 (80) | |
| Why not? | No answer | 261 (22.9) |
| I feel fine. I don’t need it | 392 (34.4) | |
| I need it, but I am always busy | 366 (23.2) | |
| I need it, but my circle of friends/family discouraged me | 119 (10.5) | |
| Are you happy? | Yes | 439 (38.6) |
| No | 699 (61.4) | |
Table 2 Prevalence of depression among study participants (n = 1138)
| BDI-II total score, mean ± SD | Min 0, max 63, 18.730 (10.654) | |
| Depression level | Absence of depression | 410 (36%) |
| Low | 266 (23.4%) | |
| Moderate | 271 (23.8%) | |
| Severe | 191 (16.8%) | |
Table 3 Association between characteristics of participants and symptoms of depression, n (%)
| Characteristic | D- | D+ | P value | |
| Age, yr, mean ± SD | 21.820 (2.059) | 22.100 (2.492) | 0.048 | |
| Gender | Female | 306 (34.5) | 582 (65.5) | 0.038 |
| Male | 104 (41.6) | 146 (58.4) | ||
| Faculty | Monastir | 124 (40.8) | 180 (59.2) | 0.042 |
| Sousse | 73 (29.4) | 175 (70.6) | ||
| Sfax | 63 (38.7) | 100 (61.3) | ||
| Tunis | 150 (35.5) | 273 (64.5) | ||
| Grade | Year 1 | 91 (36.1) | 161 (63.9) | 0.57 |
| Year 2 | 72 (36.7) | 124 (63.3) | ||
| Year 3 | 74 (37.4) | 124 (62.6) | ||
| Year 4 | 52 (30.4) | 119 (69.6) | ||
| Year 5 | 121 (37.7) | 200 (62.3) | ||
| Accomodation | Alone | 63 (32.6) | 130 (67.4) | 0.597 |
| With friends/roommates | 79 (35.9) | 141 (64.1) | ||
| Academic residency | 43 (33.9) | 84 (66.1) | ||
| Family home | 225 (37.6) | 373 (62.4) | ||
| Marital status | Single | 301 (36) | 536 (64.0) | 0.786 |
| Engaged | 100 (37.2) | 169 (62.8) | ||
| Married | 8 (27.6) | 21 (72.4) | ||
| Divorced | 1 (33.3) | 2 (66.7) | 0.149 | |
| Children | Yes | 5 (21.7) | 18 (78.3) | |
| No | 405 (36.3) | 710 (63.7) | ||
| Socio-economic level | Low | 9 (12.7) | 62 (87.3) | < 10-3 |
| Moderate | 330 (35.8) | 591 (64.2) | ||
| High | 71 (48.6) | 75 (51.4) | ||
| History of medical illness | Yes | 50 (28.9) | 123 (71.1) | 0.034 |
| No | 360 (37.3) | 605 (62.7) | ||
| History of mental illness | Yes | 14 (17.7) | 65 (82.3) | < 10-3 |
| No | 396 (37.4) | 663 (62.6) | ||
| Leisure activities | Yes | 172 (49.3) | 177 (50.7) | < 10-3 |
| No | 238 (30.2) | 551 (69.8) | ||
| Physical activities | Yes | 145 (45) | 177 (55) | < 10-3 |
| No | 265 (32.5) | 551 (67.5) | ||
| Smoking habits | Yes | 45 (28.1) | 115 (71.9) | 0.025 |
| No | 365 (37.3) | 613 (62.7) | ||
| Drinking habits | Yes | 63 (34.4) | 120 (65.6) | 0.622 |
| No | 347 (36.3) | 608 (63.7) | ||
| Are you satisfied with your career choice? | Yes | 305 (49.3) | 314 (50.7) | < 10-3 |
| No | 105 (20.2) | 414 (79.8) | ||
| Have you ever thought of dropping out of medical studies? | Yes | 167 (25.2) | 497 (74.8) | < 10-3 |
| No | 243 (51.3) | 231 (48.7) | ||
| Stress management training | Yes | 49 (31.0) | 109 (69.0) | 0.157 |
| No | 361 (36.8) | 619 (63.2) | ||
| Have you ever visited a psychiatrist? | Yes | 51 (22.4) | 177 (77.6) | < 10-3 |
| No | 359 (39.5) | 551 (60.5) | ||
| No | ||||
| Are you happy? | Yes | 289 (65.8) | 150 (34.2) | < 10-3 |
| No | 121 (17.3) | 578 (82.7) | ||
Table 4 Binary logistic regression analysis of association between the sample and depression symptoms
| Characteristic | Exp (B) | 95%CI | P value | |
| Gender | 1.544 | 1.135-2.099 | 0.006 | |
| Socio-economic level | High | 1 | ||
| Moderate | 1.83 | 1.276-2.633 | 0.001 | |
| Low | 6.589 | 3.000-14.469 | < 10-3 | |
| History of mental illness | 2.693 | 1.470-4.932 | 0.001 | |
| Smoking habits | 1.669 | 1.123-2.481 | 0.011 | |
| Grade | Year 1 | 1 | ||
| Year 2 | 0.991 | 0.653-1.504 | 0.966 | |
| Year 3 | 0.796 | 0.523-1.213 | 0.288 | |
| Year 4 | 0.918 | 0.584-1.444 | 0.711 | |
| Year 5 | 0.667 | 0.456-0.974 | 0.036 | |
| Leisure activities | 0.459 | 0.344-0.613 | < 10-3 | |
| Physical activities | 0.679 | 0.505-0.914 | 0.011 | |
| Satisfaction toward career choice | 0.238 | 0.179-0.316 | < 10-3 | |
| Stress management training | 1.609 | 1.085-2.385 | 0.018 | |
| Happiness perception | 0.143 | 0.107-0.193 | < 10-3 | |
- Citation: Amamou B, Alouani S, Ben Haouala A, Alouani S, Tlili MA, Mhalla A, Zaafrane F, Gaha L. Depression among medical students in Tunisia: Prevalence and associated factors. World J Psychiatry 2023; 13(10): 772-783
- URL: https://www.wjgnet.com/2220-3206/full/v13/i10/772.htm
- DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.5498/wjp.v13.i10.772