Epidemiol Health.  2010;32:e2010009.

The Associations between Social Support, Health-Related Behaviors, Socioeconomic Status and Depression in Medical Students

• Jeong Y
• Kim JY
• Ryu JS
• Lee KE
• Ha EH
• Park H

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of depression in medical students and to evaluate whether interpersonal social support, health-related behaviors, and socio-economic factors were associated with depression in medical students.
METHODS
The subjects in this study were 120 medical students in Seoul, Korea who were surveyed in September, 2008. The subjects were all women and over the age of 20. Their age, body mass index (BMI), quality of sleep, diet, household income, smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise levels, and self-reported health status were surveyed. The degree of perceived social support was measured using the interpersonal support evaluation list (ISEL). Depression was evaluated using the center for epidemiology studies depression scale (CES-D).
RESULTS
The mean CES-D score was 14.1+/-8.6 and 37.1% of the participants appeared to suffer from depression. Low levels of perceived interpersonal support increased the risk of depression by more than 10 times and having higher household income did not necessarily decrease the risk of depression.
CONCLUSION
Medical students have a relatively high level of depression. Efforts should be made to encourage social support in order to promote mental health in medical students.

Keyword

Depression; Medical students; Social support; Health-related behavior; Socioeconomic status

MeSH Terms

Alcohol Drinking
Body Mass Index
Depression
Diet
Family Characteristics
Female
Humans
Korea
Mental Health
Prevalence
Smoke
Smoking
Social Class
Students, Medical
Smoke