Prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress in medical students of the National University of Córdoba in the return to face -to -face

Abstract

The pandemic triggered by the presence of SARS-COV-2 generated in recent times a scenario of uncertainty, fear and anguish caused by the loss of loved ones and lifestyle changes. Educational institutions such as the National University of Córdoba implemented the virtual study modality. In this context, the demand for effort required by a university career, added to the changes generated by the return to face -to -face, could compromise the emotional stability of the students. The objective was to estimate the prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress in second-year students of the Medicine career, FCM Community Health Chair III.

A descriptive study of cross -section was conducted. In the first semester of 2022 the students were invited to participate, who answered an anonymous virtual questionnaire of Self-Report that included sociodemographic data and the DASS-21 scale that evaluates the presence and intensity of symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress. The students who completed the questionnaire were included. The responses with Infostat were analyzed, using descriptive statistics, comparisons through Chi Cuadrado, Anava and Pearson correlation test (p <0.05).

260 students participated (81.25% of the total); 75% were women, with an average age of 20.6 ± 3 years. The prevalence of depressive, anxious and stress symptoms were 70.4%, 73%and 70.8%, respectively. The female sex and financing factors with social programs were associated with symptomatology of the three conditions (p <0.05). The unemployed labor condition was also associated with stress symptoms (p <0.05). Greater intensity of stress symptoms were observed in students who consumed psychoopármacos under medical prescription (p <0.05). A negative correlation (R = -0.16; p <0.05) was found between age and anxiety score, in addition to positive correlations between depression, anxiety and stress scores (Rы0.6; p < 0.05).

In the students surveyed who resumed the face -to -face course there was a high prevalence of symptoms of the three conditions. In the case of anxiety, it exceeded that reported by national studies during the isolation of 2020. It is recommended to implement prevention actions and carry out new surveys to compare and confirm these data.