Raghunathan Dhanya, Ramakrishnan Devraj, Iris Valsan K V, Ambika Suchitra
Department of Public Health Dentistry, Government Dental College, Alappuzha, Kerala, India.
Department of Community Medicine, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, Kerala, India.
Indian J Community Med. 2019 Oct;44(Suppl 1):S14-S18. doi: 10.4103/ijcm.IJCM_23_19.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 300 million people were estimated to suffer from depression in 2017. Many studies have observed that medical personnel have a higher level of depression, but studies among dentists are scarce. Early diagnosis will help in controlling the morbidity and mortality due to depression. Hence, this study was undertaken to estimate the prevalence of depression among students of Government Dental College (GDC), Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of the state of Kerala, India.
A cross-sectional study was conducted at GDC, Thiruvananthapuram, for a period of 3 months from September to December 2017, using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and a pro forma comprising 37 questions. Students having PHQ scores >9 were considered to have depression. The questionnaire was administered on 364 students comprising undergraduate students, paradental students, house surgeons, and postgraduates. Separate sessions were arranged for each group and four reminders were given.
The prevalence of depression was estimated as 26.9% (95% confidence interval: 22.4-31.8). Being married, having high and average level of course satisfaction, and having close friends were found to act as independent protective factors, whereas female gender and breakups in relationships were found to be independent risk factors.
It is high time we provide supportive programs and implement preventive measures to help professional students, especially those who are at higher risk of mental ill-health. Further studies need to be conducted to explore the academic reasons for depression.
据世界卫生组织估计，2017年有超过3亿人患有抑郁症。许多研究观察到医务人员的抑郁症水平较高，但针对牙医的研究却很少。早期诊断有助于控制抑郁症导致的发病率和死亡率。因此，本研究旨在评估印度喀拉拉邦首府特里凡得琅政府牙科学院（GDC）学生中抑郁症的患病率。
2017年9月至12月期间，在特里凡得琅的GDC进行了一项横断面研究，使用患者健康问卷-9（PHQ-9）和一份包含37个问题的表格。PHQ得分>9的学生被认为患有抑郁症。该问卷对364名学生进行了调查，包括本科生、口腔专业学生、住院外科医生和研究生。为每个组安排了单独的会议，并进行了四次提醒。
抑郁症的患病率估计为26.9%（95%置信区间：22.4-31.8）。结果发现，已婚、课程满意度高和中等以及有亲密朋友是独立的保护因素，而女性性别和恋爱关系破裂是独立的风险因素。
现在是我们提供支持项目并实施预防措施以帮助专业学生的时候了，尤其是那些心理健康问题风险较高的学生。需要进一步开展研究以探索抑郁症的学术原因。
