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Comparative analysis of depression and its associated risk factors among public and private medical schools students in Karachi, Pakistan: A multicenter study

Context: It is estimated that 15.2%–43.8% of depression among medical students worldwide. Subjects and Methods: The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of depression and anxiety among the public and private sector. Setting and Design: This cross-sectional study was carried out among the students of private and public sector medical schools using convenient sampling validated “Becks depression scale.” Students of age group between 20 and 25 were included in the study. The dependent variable was depression, and independent variables were age, gender, religion, marital status, father's occupation, ethnicity, and the addiction history of the participants. Statistical Analysis Used: Logistic regression analysis is used to determine the association between depression and sociodemographic statistics. Results: Mean age and standard deviation of students were 23 ± 2 years. In univariate analysis, students suffered 1.8 times in public sector (odds ratio [OR]: 1.185, confidence interval [CI]: 0.537–2.614.), married students were 9.2 times (OR: 9.205, CI: 3.165–26.770), with a past depression history 14.3 times (OR: 14.397, CI: 5.928–34.961), with family history 3.6 times (OR: 3.684, CI: 1.477–9.189), with addiction history 5.4 times (OR: 5.413, CI: 1.729–16.979) and students whose fathers are businessmen were 2.9 times (OR: 2.92, CI: 1.024–5.127) more depressed. On multivariate analysis, only students with a past depression history were significantly 8.3 times more likely to suffer from depression (OR: 8.309, CI: 2.971–23.244). Conclusion: The study identifies that depression is more common in public sector students. This finding helps to develop policies for overcoming these problems which includes easy syllabus for students and providing them career counseling and guidance.