The prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome and depression in Guilan medical students in 2020

Background: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and depression are specific mental disorders that can negatively affect college students’ social, occupational, and academic performance, especially medical students. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of CFS and depressive symptoms and their relationship with medical students.

Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted with 175 medical students at the Guilan University of Medical Sciences in 2020 in Guilan in the north of Iran. Three levels of medical students, including basic sciences and physiopathology, externship, and internship students, participated. A demographic information questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and the Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire (CFQ) were used to collect data. SPSS 22 was used to analyze the data, including Mann-Whitney, KruskalWallis, and Spearman tests.

Results: The mean age of the participants was 23.92 ± 2.04 years. Of 175 participants, 50.9% were males. In all, 11.4% of subjects reported levels of CFS, and 38.8 % of them showed levels of depression. The rates of CFS and depressions were not associated with age, gender, marital status, educational level, geographic area, or student habitation (P>0.05). The use of cigarettes (P=0.002), alcohol, and substances (P<0.0001) showed a significant relationship with higher levels of CFS and depression scores. The relationship between the CFS score and depression was significant (r=0.523, P<0.0001).

Conclusion: The prevalence of CFS and depression among medical students were 11.4% and 38.8%, respectively. There was a positive association between CFS and depression. Implementing screening policies is recommended, along with programs to help promote mental and physical health among students.