Prevalence and correlates of academic stress, anxiety and depression among medical students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria-Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Academic stress is the body's response to academic-related demands at levels that exceed the students coping capabilities. Although acute stress is beneficial, chronic stress leads to persistent  elevation of stress hormones, causing the development of anxiety and mood disorders, including depression. This study investigated the prevalence of academic stress (and associated stressors), anxiety and depression among year two medical students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.

Materils and Method: Depression, anxiety and stress scale-21 (DASS-21) and medical stressor questionnaire (MSSQ) were filled out by 188 randomly selected participants after obtaining their agreement and written consent to participate.

Results: Mean levels of stress, anxiety and depression were found to be normal, moderate and normal, respectively. Significant and strong positive correlations between stress, anxiety and depression levels were observed. The prevalences of the conditions were found to be relatively high: 39.4% for stress, 68.1% for anxiety and 47.3% for depression at various degrees. However, the prevalences of severe to extremely severe levels of the conditions were relatively low for stress (6.9%) and depression (6.9%), and moderate for anxiety (33%). Academic-related stressors were the leading contributors to stress among the participants, with 46.8% perceiving high stress from this category of stressors.

Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate a relatively high prevalence rate of stress, anxiety and depression among the participants, while framing a critical view of the academic environment’s impact on medical students' mental health, and underscore the importance of proactive measures to support the well-being of this population.

Keywords: Stress, anxiety, depression, medical students, DASS-21, Nigeria