Academic performance and depression among medical students in conflict zones of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a university-based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Context and objective. Pursuing medical training is a well-established cause of depression in students, which increases with the number of years of study. This study aimed to explore the association between academic performance and depression among students. Methods. A pilot cross-sectional study was conducted among students enrolled in the fourth- to seventh-year faculty of Medicine at the University of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Multivariate logistic regression models were performed to explore the association between academic performance and depression using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Results. In total, 497 students were interviewed. The prevalence of depression was 60 % with 10.6 % of participants having severe depression. Participants who never repeated an academic year were 1.22 times more likely to have depression compared to those who had ever repeated an academic year during their medical training. Having a history of chronic headaches and using alcohol were the factors associated with depression, while being in the last year of medical training showed a protective effect on depression in medical students. Conclusion. Depression is highly prevalent among fourth- to seventh-year medical students enrolled at the University of Goma. Depression is more likely to be reported in medical students who never repeated an academic year in their academic journey. The present study emphasizes a need of educational interventions targeting the student’s mental health well-being regardless their academic performance during the previous academic years. Received: July 14th, 2023 Accepted: June 29th, 2024 https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/aamed.v17i4.5