PREVALENCE OF MENTAL ILLNESSES IN PUBLIC SECTOR MEDICAL COLLEGE, PESHAWAR

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of mental distress in undergraduate medical studentsand to identify related factors.Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in a sample population of Khyber Medical CollegePeshawar students. Mental illnesses were identified according to the 20-item Self-Report Questionnaire.Results: A total of 669 students were screened and those who scored 10 or more were 187 (27.95%). Total number ofmale students was 344 (51.42%) and 79 (22.96%) scored high on SRQ. Total number of female students was 325 (48.57%) and 108 (33.23%) scored in the range of mental distress. Our results showed that mental distress was highest in3rd year students (37.03%), followed by 1st year (31.69%), 2nd year (29.59%), final year (24.50%) and 4th year (19.66%).Conclusions: Our findings indicate a high prevalence of probable psychiatric illnesses in medical students and areimportant for developing strategies to prevent mental disorders in them. Changes in curriculum and establishing ofstudents counseling services may reduce this morbidity.