A cross-sectional study on the prevalence of depression and anxiety among dental students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Authors

Nurul A. Yahya, Universiti Kebangsaan MalaysiaFollow
Aina N. Rashid, Ministry of Health MalaysiaFollow
Ainul H. Dazalan, Ministry of Health MalaysiaFollow
Ahmad SI. Zakaria, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.Follow
Asma AA. Abdullah, 2Department of Paediatric and Orthodontic, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaFollow
Khadijah HA. Abdullah, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaFollow

Abstract

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on everyone, including dental students. The situation may indirectly influence dental students' performance due to preventive measures to contain the disease. This study aims to assess undergraduate dental students' depression and anxiety levels (preclinical and clinical) and determine the challenges faced in two public universities in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire was conducted online using the 9-item Patient Health Question (PHQ-9) and 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7). Results: Of the 281 respondents collected in this study, 149 were preclinical, and 132 were clinical students. Generally, the level of depression and anxiety is higher in preclinical students than in clinical students. More clinical students always find it challenging to complete their clinical requirements (18.2% vs. 6.0%, p=0.001) and cope with online classes (0.8% vs. 6.7%, p=0.002) compared to preclinical students. Also, more clinical students never had internet connection problems than preclinical students (5.3% vs. 1.3%, p=0.021). Alternatively, more preclinical students always feel lagging in studies (11.4% vs. 3.6%, p=0.002). A statistically significant difference was seen in the social support between preclinical and clinical students (p=0.006), but most students had support from their family and friends.
Conclusion: Preclinical students have a more severe level of depression and anxiety compared to clinical students. The students' significant challenges are the feeling that they are lagging in studies, difficulty completing clinical requirements, and difficulty coping with online classes.

Recommended Citation

Yahya, Nurul A.; Rashid, Aina N.; Dazalan, Ainul H.; Zakaria, Ahmad SI.; Abdullah, Asma AA.; and Abdullah, Khadijah HA. (2024) "A cross-sectional study on the prevalence of depression and anxiety among dental students during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Dentomaxillofacial Science: Vol. 9: Iss. 2, Article 17.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15562/jdmfs.v9i2.1604
Available at: https://scholarhub.unhas.ac.id/jdmfs/vol9/iss2/17

Pages

126-130

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Rights

©2024Nurul A. Yahya, Aina N. Rashid, Ainul H. Dazalan, Ahmad SI. Zakaria, Asma AA. Abdullah, Khadijah HA. Abdullah

DOI

10.15562/jdmfs.v9i2.1604