Prevalence of Depressive Symptoms of Undergraduate Medicine Students from Puebla, Mexico

Abstract

Objective: to identify the prevalence of depressive symptoms in undergraduate medicine students of the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (fmbuap) enrolled in the eighth semester. Methods: observational, single center and cross-sectional study; it was taken as a population sample of 63 students of the fmbuap who were pursuing a degree; 31 women and 32 men with an age range of 20 to 23 years. It was applied the questionnaire about the health of the patient (phq-9), assessing depressive symptoms. Results: 95.23% mentioned at least a symptom in the last two weeks, near 31.72% of the students could have a diagnosis of major depressive syndrome. The most prevalent symptoms: feeling tired or with low-energy 88.88%; followed by have trouble sleeping or oversleeping 63.49%; and 44.44% chose to catalogue the impact in their life as difficult. Conclusions: it is proposed to make preventive plans with the purpose of avoiding negative effects in the academic development.