Prevalence of Generalized Anxiety Disorder among Medical Students in Duhok University, Iraq

Background: Medical students worldwide are experiencing a higher occurrence of anxiety, but there is no available data specifically from the Kurdistan region, Iraq.Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and to assess the major stresses and risk factors that lead to the onset of GAD.Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was done at the College of Medicine, University of Duhok, Duhok, Iraq. 422 medical students participated, and they were assessed for GAD by using the GAD-7 score. The GAD-7 has seven items, each item reflecting the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-5.Results: A total of 422 students participated in the study. The study revealed that 70.7% of participants had GAD with 38.2%, 19.2%, and 13.3% having mild, moderate, and severe anxiety, respectively. The results revealed that females (female = 84, male = 53), those living in family homes (family homes = 97, dormitory = 40), those residing in urban (urban = 341, rural = 81), those with poorer academic performance, and those in grades 1, 2, and 3 were affected by more severe anxiety.Conclusion: The prevalence of GAD was high among medical students in Duhok Medical College, and has a significant correlation with gender, residence, academic performance, and student grade. It is recommended to give psychological support and exercise special caution for diagnosing and managing students that may help overcome this psychological condition.