An assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of medical students across various medical colleges of Punjab

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had far reaching effects on almost all aspects of everyday living especially on the economic front and has brought more focus on the importance of mental health amidst all the uncertainty and fear looming large on the minds of people. Various studies have been conducted amongst medical students in different countries and have shown varying levels of anxiety and depression in them. Hence this study was designed to assess the prevalence of the same in the medical students of Punjab. Method: This was an observational, cross sectional study conducted amongst 267 undergraduate medical students on World Mental Health Day 10th October 2020 using an online questionnaire comprising of the GAD- 7 and PHQ-9 scale questions. Results: A total of 267 students participated in the online survey out of which 170(63.6%) were females and 97(36.3%) were males. According to the scoring obtained using the GAD-7 scale, some levels of anxiety were prevalent in 181 students i.e.67.7% with scores of more than five, which came out to be statistically significant with a p- value of 0.018 for the study population. A significant positive correlation was seen between the levels of anxiety and depression with the Pearson correlation coefficient r=0.72. Conclusion: The present study implies that substantial efforts are required to promote good mental health and reduce the stigma that plagues these topics. Early diagnosis and treatment of these conditions can help the students experience a more fulfilling and meaningful life and medical career.