Mekonnen Chilot Kassa, Abate Hailemichael Kindie, Beko Zerko Wako, Zegeye Alebachew Ferede, Azagew Abere Woretaw
Department of Medical Nursing, School of Nursing, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
PLoS One. 2024 Dec 26;19(12):e0312281. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0312281. eCollection 2024.
Depression has become a major health problem that students in a University encounter during their study life. At least one-third and possibly up to one-half of medical students show some form of psychological distress during their medical school. Aggregated evidence is scarce in Africa though there are published articles with various outputs. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to pool those outputs to draw concert information crucial for devising strategies to tackle depression among students at the University.
To determine the pooled prevalence of depression among African medical students.
Original articles about the prevalence of depression among African medical students were searched through known and international databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochran Library) and search engines (Google and Google Scholar). Data were extracted using a standard data extraction checklist that was developed according to Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). The I2 statistics were used to identify heterogeneity across studies. Funnel plot asymmetry and Egger's tests were used to check for publication bias. A Random effect model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence of depression among medical students in Africa. Statistical analysis was conducted using STATA version 11 software.
A total of 31 cross-sectional observational studies which provided information about the prevalence of depression among medical students were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The overall pooled prevalence of depression among medical students in Africa was 38.80% [95%CI (29.55, 48.05). Being a female medical student was [AOR = 0.25, 95%CI (0.15, 0.42)] and being a second-year medical student was [AOR = 0.26, 95%CI (0.10, 0.68)] times less likely to have depression.
Depression affects well over one-third of medical students in Africa. Moreover, this systematic review and meta-analysis revealed that female medical students were less likely to develop depression. Therefore, this result suggested that medical schools or Universities and concerned authorities better offer possible early detection and prevention programs as per the magnitude. Furthermore, there has to be further research to figure out the potential factors perhaps using both qualitative and quantitative research approaches.
抑郁症已成为大学生在学习生活中面临的一个主要健康问题。至少三分之一、甚至可能多达一半的医学生在医学院学习期间会出现某种形式的心理困扰。尽管非洲有一些发表的文章且成果各异，但综合证据仍然稀缺。因此，本系统评价和荟萃分析旨在汇总这些成果，以获取对于制定应对大学学生抑郁症策略至关重要的综合信息。
确定非洲医学生抑郁症的合并患病率。
通过知名国际数据库（PubMed、Scopus、科学网和考克兰图书馆）以及搜索引擎（谷歌和谷歌学术）检索关于非洲医学生抑郁症患病率的原始文章。使用根据乔安娜·布里格斯研究所（JBI）制定的标准数据提取清单提取数据。I²统计量用于识别研究间的异质性。漏斗图不对称性和埃格检验用于检查发表偏倚。采用随机效应模型估计非洲医学生抑郁症的合并患病率。使用STATA 11版软件进行统计分析。
本系统评价和荟萃分析纳入了31项提供医学生抑郁症患病率信息的横断面观察性研究。非洲医学生抑郁症的总体合并患病率为38.80%[95%置信区间（29.55，48.05）]。女性医学生患抑郁症的可能性为[AOR = 0.25，95%置信区间（0.15，0.42）]，二年级医学生患抑郁症的可能性为[AOR = 0.26，95%置信区间（0.10，0.68）]。
抑郁症影响着非洲超过三分之一的医学生。此外，本系统评价和荟萃分析表明女性医学生患抑郁症的可能性较小。因此，这一结果表明医学院校或大学及相关当局应根据严重程度更好地提供可能的早期检测和预防项目。此外，还必须进行进一步研究，或许采用定性和定量研究方法来找出潜在因素。
