Depression, Anxiety and Stress Disorders Among Medical Students in King Khalid University, Saudia Arabia

Education in medical colleges can produce a significant psychological stress on undergraduate students. Wide range of psychological morbidity has been reported among medical students ranging from stress, depression and anxiety Researches reported some psychological changes among medical students specially in beginning of their academic life due to change the environment from the school to the university, information input overload, and academic evaluation (exams and continuous assessment). Presence of these condition among the medical students who will be the future doctors can affect negatively the proficiency of academic study program, clinical practice, their relation and attitude with their colleagues, teachers and ultimately with their patients leading to medical errors and malpractice. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress disorders among medical students in King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia. In this cross sectional study data were analyzed by using SPSS ver 20 descriptive and inferential statistics were obtained. 47.9% of the respondents have normal depression score while 15.5% have mild, 19.7% have moderate, 8.4% have severe and 8.4% have extremely severe depression scores. 41.8% have normal anxiety score, while 12.8% have mild, 21.8% have moderate, 10.3% have severe and 13.2% have extremely severe anxiety. 50.2% have normal stress score while 14.6% have mild, 17.6% have moderate, 12.3% have severe and 5.4% have extremely severe stress. Increasing depression and anxiety should be encountered by the college think tank and it is vital that colleges continually evaluate the mental health of their students and tailor treatment programs to specifically target their needs