Prevalence of depression and its relation to risky behaviors in students of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, 2014

BACKGROUND: Students, particularly medical students, due to the special circumstances, are susceptible to loss their mental health. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depression and its relation to risky behaviors among students of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran, in 2014. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 323 medical/paramedical students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected through Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and a checklist including demographic information. Chi-square or Fisher's exact tests and logistic regression method were used to determine the relationship between depression and investigated variables. RESULTS: A total of 323 students, including 161 men (49.8%) and 162 women (50.2%) with mean age of 22.09 ± 1.67 years were investigated. From our series, 147 students (45.5%) had the symptoms of depression. Although several variables including degree satisfaction, experiencing educational failure, alcohol consumption, smoking, and having family problems increased the chance of depression in univariate analysis, degree dissatisfaction was the only significant factor for depression occurrence in multivariate analysis by logistic regression. CONCLUSION: Given the results, degree dissatisfaction was the most important factor related to the occurrence of depression. This variable should be considered before entering to the university by students and their parents.