Frequency of anxiety and depression in first year students of medicine and surgery at the national university of asunción with low academic performance

Abstract

Introduction: According to studies, anxiety and depression are part of the many psychological disorders registered in the general population and with higher incidence in the university environment, overlapping frequently. Due to the psychosocial and academic demand of the medical career, their students are part of the target population for these disorders. This disorders may present detrimental effects on the student‘s trajectory, with a decrease in their academic performance, deterioration of their interpersonal relationships and of their emotional and physical health.

Objective: Determine the depression and anxiety frequence in students of the first semester of 2020, according to their academic performance.

Materials  and  methods: Descriptive observational study, cross-sectional, prospective and non-probabilistic sampling for convenience; from June 16 to 25, 2021, at the Facultad de Ciencias Médicas (sede Central ). William Zung‘s Anxiety and Depression Diagnostic Sur-vey and Self-Made Performance Survey.

Results: 91 cases were analyzed; 60 female and 31 male. Ages between 18-25 years. It was found that 27% present anxiety, 45% depression and 25% present both diseases. As for the performance, it was mostly good (average 3) and it has been found that in all the populations of different performances there was a high percentage of mild depression (80-90%) and absence of anxiety (60-100%). However, there is a slight increase in mild anxiety in students with insufficient performance (average 1) and sufficient (average 2).

Conclusion: The results show that 85.1% of the surveyed population suffers from one or both of the disorders discussed; However, no significant differences are found in the frequency of these in the different levels of academic performance, all having similar percentages and severity of depression and anxiety.