Assessing Medical Students Depressive Symptoms by Use of University Student Depression Inventory (USDI) in Sabzevar, Iran.

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Background: Many studies suggest depression rate in medical students is higher in comparison to others. Such disorder can cause motivation loss and hopelessness. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the depression symptoms and their contributors amongst medical students who were studying the Early Clinical Exposure (ECE) in Sabzevar, Iran.   Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated the students of Sabzevar University of Medical Science by applying University Student Depression Inventory (USDI) questionnaire, which was comprised of categories including lethargy, cognitive/environmental and academic motivation groups. Results: Out of 75 students, 31 voluntarily completed the questionnaire. The mean total USDI score of participants was 60.71 ± 22.55. Although female students got higher USDI scores, data analysis did not show any significant association between USDI results and gender (p>0.05). Lethargy and academic motivation were significantly higher in 4th-semester students (p=0.04 and p=0.001 respectively) and Cognitive/emotional results were significantly higher in 7th semester (p=0.001). Conclusion: Based on the results,  4th-semester students were experiencing more lethargy and showed less motivation for their courses. Reprogramming the ECE courses and providing medical students with more clinical exposure may reduce their depressive symptoms. In addition, 7th-semester students seem to experience more emotional problems which could be due to their upcoming clinical courses in few weeks.