THE PREDICTIVE FACTORS OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION IN A SAMPLE OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES STUDENTS: A PILOT STUDY

Abstract

Depression and anxiety are most frequent among different mental disorders and the comorbidity between the two mental health outcomes has been found to be high. Taking into account that nearly 30% of medical students suffer from anxiety or depression in Europe, this study is unique as there has been no other publication so far that offers an assessment of the two mental health outcomes concurrently in a population of biomedical sciences students. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and predictive factors of anxiety and depression in a sample of biomedical sciences students. This cross-sectional research was carried out in March and April of 2020. 174 students of Biomedical Sciences of Vilnius University were investigated. The prevalence of case-level anxiety and depression was found in 33,3% and 4,6% of Lithuanian biomedical students' population, respectively. Students with potential anxiety hazards were related to psychosocial and economic circumstances. Students with potential depression hazards were related only to poor housing and/or economic circumstances (Odds Ratio (OR) 3,5, 95% CI: 1,3–9,6) and low income (OR 3,4, 95% CI: 1,1–10).