A survey on the prevalence of depression symptoms and risk factors among postgraduates in a university in Shanghai / 中华全科医师杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate thedepression status and the related risk factors of depression among postgraduates in a university in Shanghai.Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in 249 postgraduates from a university in Shanghai to investigate the general information,depression status and awareness of graduate students through the Health Questionnaire Depression Scale (PHQ-9) and self-made questionnaires.Results In this survey,the overall prevalence of depression symptoms among postgraduates was 49.8％ (124/249);36.1％ (90/249) had mild depressive symptoms,9.2％ (23/249) had moderate symptoms,2.8％ (7/249) had moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms,and 1.6％ (4/249) had severe depressive symptoms.83.9％ (208/249) of postgraduates believed that the occurrence and development of depression is related to academic pressure;54.2％ (135/249) of them believed that psychosomatic treatment can reduce the occurrence and development of depressive symptoms;when they are aware of depressive symptoms,87.6％ (218/249) of them chose to go to the psychological counseling center.Medical students (OR =0.441,95 ％ CI0.232-0.837),personality (OR =0.562,95 ％ CI0.326-0.969) and physical fitness (OR =2.813,95％ CI1.524-5.190) were associated with depressive symptoms (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Non-medical students,feeling introverted and poor physical quality are the risk factors of depressive symptoms in postgraduates and need to be alert to mental health of the students with these factors.