Mental health status of students during coronavirus pandemic outbreak: A cross-sectional study

Seyyed Muhammad Mahdi Mahdavinoor; Mohammad Hossein Rafiei; Seyyed Hatam Mahdavinoor

doi:10.1016/j.amsu.2022.103739

Mental health status of students during coronavirus pandemic outbreak: A cross-sectional study

Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2022 Jun:78:103739. doi: 10.1016/j.amsu.2022.103739. Epub 2022 May 11.

Authors

Seyyed Muhammad Mahdi Mahdavinoor^{1

2}, Mohammad Hossein Rafiei³, Seyyed Hatam Mahdavinoor⁴

Affiliations

¹ Student Research Committee, Faculty of Allied Medical Sciences, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
² Department of Psychology, College of Human Sciences, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran.
³ Student Research Committee, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
⁴ Department of Islamic Theology, Yadegar-e-Imam Khomeini (Rah) Shahre-rey Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: University students have been extensively affected with psychological problems due to outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic given their special position and status. In this study, we intend to examine the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among a group of students.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in medical Sciences universities of Mazandaran Province. 352 students were recruited by simple available sampling method. Data collection tools were Standard Mental Health Questionnaire (DASS-21) and demographic information questionnaire. Data analysis was done using SPSS software through descriptive and analytical statistics.

Results: The mean age of students was 22.44 ± 3.4 and 54.3% of them were females. 33.6, 28.4, and 27.3% of students had moderate to extremely severe levels of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. There was a significant relationship between total mental health score with physical activity (p < 0.04) and with smoking (p < 0.02). There was also a significant relationship between smoking and depression (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: Considering the fact that anxiety, stress and depression are common among medical sciences students of Mazandaran Province, necessary measures must be taken to improve their mental health status.

Keywords: Anxiety; Coronavirus; Depression; Mental health; Stress.