Common mental disorders among medical students in Jimma University, SouthWest Ethiopia

Background: Medical students are at risk of common mental disorders due to difficulties of adjustment to the medical school environment, exposure to death and human suffering. However there is limited data on this aspect. Therefore, the current study assessed the magnitude of common mental disorders and contributing factors among medical students.

Methods: An institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted from May 12–16, 2015 using stratified sampling technique. Three hundred and five medical students participated in the study. Common mental disorders were assessed using the self-reported questionnaire (SRQ-20). Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with common mental disorders among students. Adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence interval were computed to determine the level of significance.

Result: Prevalence of common mental disorders among medical students was 35.2%. Being female, younger age, married, having less than 250 birr monthly pocket money, attending pre-clinical class, khat chewing, smoking cigarettes, alcohol drinking and ganja/shisha use were significantly associated with common mental disorders.

Conclusion: The overall prevalence of common mental disorders among medical students was high. Therefore, it is essential to institute effective intervention strategies giving emphasis to contributing factors to common mental disorders.

Keywords: Common mental disorders, medical students, prevalence, Ethiopia

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