Authors: Tahira Raza , Muhammad Ashraf Chaudhry , Ahsan Masu , Massiha Gulzar Ahmed , Minahil Ahmed , Bushra Amin

Abstract

Background and Objective: Mental health has proved to affect the physical and emotional aspects of one’s life. Appreciation of its influence on the physical functionality and efficacy of an individual may provide better treatment plans and coping strategies. This study was designed to find out the frequency of depression, anxiety, and stress among medical students at different levels of education, taking gender differences into account and its relation to chronic fatigue syndrome.
Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out from October 2017 – March 2018. Standardized questionnaire was given to 270 MBBS students of Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Medical College, Lahore. The sampling method was non probability convenience sampling. The participants gave free consent. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 23.
Results: Out of the 270 candidates, 246 had fatigue. Females scored higher on both questionnaires and showed greater frequency of fatigue and mental health problems like stress [P = 0.004]. Over all mental health traits showed statistically significant association with chronic fatigue (P = 0.001).
Conclusion: Frequency of chronic fatigue among medical students suffering from anxiety, depression and stress is higher as compared to normal students. Female students suffer more from chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, anxiety and stress as compared to males. Strategies to evaluate and rigorously review medical student’s mental problems, and devising appropriate coping mechanisms is essential for their well-being and optimum health.

Keywords: Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Fatigue, Medical students, Chronic fatigue syndrome, Mental health.