Anxiety and depression during post covid-19 lockdown period among medical students, and it’s relation with stress and smartphone addiction in India

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Medical profession, a competitive and ever-updating field which requires great commitment, imposes a stressful environment for students. Our study aimed to find the prevalence and factors associated with psychological illness. Methods A cross-sectional analytical study was done among medical students in Puducherry. A stratified random sampling strategy was incorporated to achieve a calculated sample size of 384. The presence of anxiety and depression, perceived stress and addiction to the phone were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, and Smartphone Addiction Scale – short version. Prevalence of anxiety and depression was summarized as a proportion with a 95 % confidence interval (CI). The prevalence ratio (PR) for the factors associated was estimated using log-binomial regression. Results With the response from 383 students, the prevalence of anxiety and depression was 39.4 % (95 %CI: 34.5–44.3 %) and 26.6 % (22.2–31.1 %). Perceived stress was moderate in 68.2 % and high in 14 % of students. Higher age (aPR=1.49), female gender (aPR=1.22), tobacco or alcohol use (aPR=1.24), smartphone addiction (aPR=2.09) and high stress (aPR=1.93) were the predictors of anxiety among medical students in our study. Use of tobacco or alcohol (aPR=2.07), smartphone addiction (aPR=1.96) and high stress (aPR=1.72) were the predictors of depression. Conclusions Anxiety was more prevalent than depression among the medical students. Use of tobacco or alcohol, smartphone addiction and stress increase the risk of psychological morbidity. Medical training should have a module on coping mechanisms to overcome psychological illness and have better mental well-being.