Impact of COVID-19 on the Mental Health of Medical Students of Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: The biggest dilemma of today’s world is COVID-19. This pandemic situation has completely engulfed the globe with a rapidly increasing number of cases and has affected a great number of lives along with their lifestyle including the educational sector. Objective: This study explores the impact of COVID-19, how frequent lockdown, and online learning have affected the mental health of the students of medical college. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the medical students of Karachi, in September 2021, in Jinnah Medical and Dental College. A total of 312 medical students were enrolled in the study. Out of which 208 were females and 104 were males. Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) was used to assess the mental health of students of medical college. Results: The results of the study revealed that a total of 312 medical students were enrolled in the study; belonging to the age group of (18-25) years. Approximately 104 (66 %) of female students experienced depression, 44 (21%) anxiety, and 60 (28%) stress. Hence gender and year of study of the participants were found to be significant (p-value<0.05). The odds of first-year students showed high levels of anxiety as compared to final-year students (OR = 1.679, 95% CI [1.202–2.634], P = 0.002). Conclusion: This study will help in making relevant policies, mental health strategies and providing a better framework for the medical colleges and universities which is essential for the mental health of students. Keywords: Anxiety, COVID-19, Depression, Karachi, Medical Students, Stress

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“…33 Amid an already existing backdrop of burnout, 33,[36][37][38][39][40] students faced new fears about the impact of COVID disruptions on readiness for clerkship, residency, and eventual practice. 15,[41][42][43] These stressors were experienced disproportionately by medical students who had previously experienced mental health challenges, 26,44 women and gender minority students, 28,[45][46][47][48][49] and students from low-income families. 32,50 Simultaneously, UGME staff were facing dramatically increased workloads, particularly women and disabled workers.…”

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“…When using meditation and yoga, it is possible to increase the capabilities of the brain, in particular, increase neuroplasticity, it was noted in the work by S.T. Ahmed et al (16) . The authors noted that synapses have the ability to transmit a large amount of information, and the newer data passes through the neural connection, the greater the probability of creating new synaptic networks of neural origin, it is possible to agree with this statement, but it is worth noting that this mechanism of creating neural networks is more it is important for damage to the brain and its cells, for full regeneration.…”

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“…Moreover, research suggests that increasing students' PsyCap can have beneficial effects beyond their academic achievements, influencing their overall quality of life and sense of well‐being (Ortega‐Maldonado & Salanova, 2017; Poots & Cassidy, 2020). The development of PsyCap has been particularly important over the last two years as the COVID‐19 pandemic resulted in higher prevalence rates of depression, anxiety and post‐traumatic stress symptoms among university students (Hekmat et al, 2021; Kumari et al, 2020; Salimi et al, 2021; Sultana et al, 2021). The deterioration of mental health has been even more pronounced in students who belong to minority groups (Wood et al, 2022).…”