Depression and Related Factors in Female Students of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences

Abstract Background and objectives: Depression is the most common cause of disability caused by diseases in the world. Having physical activity is a solution for reducing depression. This study was conducted to determine the causes of depression and its related factors. Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 266 female students participated in the study selected by random stratified sampling. The data were collected with demographic questionnaires, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and the body composition was measured with the body analyzer machine and entered into the SPSS software. To examine the effect of physical activity on depression, a logistic regression model was used with adjusting the effect of the likely confounding variables. Results: The mean age of the participants was 22.15 ± 2.4. According to the Beck Depression Inventory, 24.8% (66 individuals) suffered from depression and 69.5% (185 individuals) were healthy and 5.6% (15 persons) were missing from study. The results did not show a significant difference between depression and being local or nonlocal, BMI and the income level. But there was a significant difference between the healthy and the depressed group with regard to physical activity ( P=0.03). Physical activity at recommended levels showed an inverse relationship with depression of students so that students who have the recommended levels of physical activity get the 44% lower chance to be in the depressed group against students who have been low level of physical activity (OR=0.56, 95% CI:0.31-0.99, P=0.046). Conclusion: Due to the effect of physical activity on reducing depression, providing sport facilities, recommending people to increase their physical activity and culture making in the society can serve as constructive solutions to improving the psychological health and preventing depression in the society