Incidence of Major Depression among First Year Pharmacy Undergraduates
2265-2270
Correspondence
Tahir M Khan,Lecturer, School of Pharmacy, Island College of technology Balik pulau. 11000, Pulau Penang (Malaysia ). office: +60-0174676052,e-mail: tahir.pks@gmail.com
The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of major depression and the factors responsible for its incidence among first year pharmacy students at a private pharmacy college in Penang. Face to face interviews were conducted among the pharmacy first year students using a structured study tool. The entire fresh first year pharmacy students were approached for their potential participation in the study. The evaluation for the depression was done using the Diagnostic Statistics Manual Four Text Revision (DSM IV-TR) criteria for depression. All the data was analysed using SPSS® version 13®. Binary Logistic regression was applied in order to further predict the factors that had a major contribution in the resulting depression. The findings demonstrated that the incidence of depression was higher among female students in comparison to males, which was found to be significant (t=5.538, p=<0.001). Among all demographic factors, gender was found to significantly correlate with the incidence of the symptoms of depression (r=0.77, p=<0.001). The respondents were further evaluated in order to identify the stressors responsible for the depression. A majority 96.2% highlighted Assignments, Quizzes and Projects and work overload as the potential stressors for depression. However, the lecturer’s attitude and the work over load were the two main stressors identified, that are significantly (F=12.736, df=25, p=<0.042) found to be associated with the prevalence of depression. on the whole it was revealed that female students had a higher prevalence of depression (Odd ratio=1.250, CI 0.688- 2.271). However, on racial grounds, Malay students were found more likely to be at a higher risk (Odd ratio=1.618, CI 0.378- 6.923) than that of their Chinese classmates (Odd ratio=0.863, CI 0.570- 1.306. Overall findings demonstrated that Malay female students were at a higher risk of depression. The lecturer’s attitude and work overload were the stressors identified for the possible association with the depressive state of the students.