Abstract

Background: Recent studies suggest that medical education might adversely affect student’s mental health. King Faisal University in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia, has been concerned with the mental well-being of the students hence we conducted this study to explore the presence and assess the prevalence of depression among previous year students in the College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Methodology: A Cross-sectional study was conducted among previous year students in the College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Patient health questionnaire -9 (PHQ-9) was used to collect the data.
Results: All of our participants were single medical male students in the preparatory year in college of medicine in King Faisal University where the females refused to participate in this questionnaire, the prevalence rate of depression among the studied population was found to be 90.19% and varies from mild to severe. No significant correlations regarding age, living place and nature of living among two studied groups were observed (depressed and not depressed).
Conclusion: The prevalence of depression among previous year students in the college of medicine at King Faisal University in Al-Ahsa was found very high where reaching 90.19%.

Key words: Depression, medical students, patient health questionnaire -9.