title: The prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms from an Arabian setting: a wake up call.
abstract: It has been shown that medical students have a higher rate of depressive symptoms than the general population and age- and sex-matched peers. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms among the medical students of a large school following a traditional curriculum and its relation to personal background variables. A descriptive-analytic, cross-sectional study was conducted in a medical school in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The medical students of King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were screened for depressive symptoms using the 21-item Beck Depression Inventory. A high prevalence of depressive symptoms (48.2%) was found, it was either mild (21%), moderate (17%), or severe (11%). The presence and severity of depressive symptoms had a statistically significant association with early academic years (p < 0.000) and female gender (p < 0.002). The high prevalence of depressive symptoms is an alarming sign and calls for remedial action, particularly for the junior and female students.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, P.O. Box 7805, Riyadh 11472, Saudi Arabia. efarisx2@yahoo.co.uk
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Al-Faris
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Irfan
authors.forename: C P M
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Van der Vleuten
authors.forename: Naghma
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Naeem
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alsalem
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alamiri
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Alraiyes
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alfowzan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alabdulsalam
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ababtain
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aljabab
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bukhari
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Alsinaidi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Alofaisan
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult