Depresión en estudiantes universitarios peruanos durante la pandemia COVID-19

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a great impact on mental health, being depression one of the most frequent pathologies. Our aim was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with depression in university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: We conducted an observational, analytical, cross-sectional, prospective study. University students who meet the eligibility criteria were included. The Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale was used to determine levels of depression. The association between variables was evaluated using logistic regression analysis and the chi-square test. Results: In total, 261 university students were included; 57.1% (n=149) presented depressive symptoms, of them, 56.4% (n=84) had mild depression, 36.9% (n=55) moderate depression and 6.7% (n=10) severe depression. Depression was more frequent in 18-22 years old students than in the 23-30 years old group (OR: 2.269, 95%CI: 1.352-3.808; p=0.002). Participants who did recreational activities a few times or never had increased odds (OR: 2.293, 95% CI: 1.365-3.851; p=0.002) compared to those who did them. No associations were found regarding sex, socioeconomic status, occupation, housing arrangement, alcohol, and drug consumption. Conclusions: The prevalence of depression in university students is high being age and recreational activities associated factors. The impact of COVID-19 on students’ mental health should be a major concern and strategies to mitigate it are needed.