Prevalence of depression in medical students in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective(s): Depression is one of the most common mental disorders. Often the onset of this disease is during adolescence and early youth. This period, which is the period of transition from childhood to adulthood, is a stage of emotional instability caused by the demand for separation and independence. Students are in this age range. The occurrence of depression at this age causes a sharp drop in academic and social performance. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of determining the prevalence of depression in Iranian medical students using Beck questionnaire. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conductted. All articles written in English and Persian on the prevalence of depression in medical students up to 22 August 20023 were searched in Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Magiran, and Scientific Information Database (SID) databases, and Google Scholar search engine. The heterogeneity of the studies was investigated using the I2 index and the meta-regression model to evaluate the variables suspected of heterogeneity at a significance level of 0.05. Finally, 9 articles were analyzed using CMA software. Results: The overall prevalence of depression in Iranian medical students based on the nine published articles was 15.2% (95% CI 11.8-19.5; 95%). The highest depression in medical students was recorded in Hamedan, 24.8% (95% Cl: 19.5%-30.9%) in 2015 and the lowest prevalence of depression in medical students was obtained in Kerman province, 6.5% (95% CI: 4-10.4) in 2016. Depression was higher in female than male students. Also, a significant statistical correlation was observed between prevalence of depression in medical students and years (P<0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of depression in Iranian medical students was 15.2%. Although, the rate of prevalence was increased annually; therefore, policy makers and managers should take serious measures to reduce depression.