Prevalence of Psychiatric Morbidity Among Undergraduate Students of a Dental College in West Bengal

Background: Stresses of medical course affects the academic performance as well as physical and psychological health of the students negatively. In the present day scenario every one of us has vulnerability to have psychiatric morbidity. Like other young adults, undergraduate dental students are similarly vulnerable to turmoil due to academic and social stresses, which often hamper the educational achievement. Early detection and treatment of psychological morbidities shorten the suffering leading to less social impairment in long term. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the psychiatric morbidity of dental students and the factors affecting their mental health. Settings and Design: This cross sectional, descriptive and correlation study was conducted in North Bengal Dental College, a rural dental college of West Bengal, India. Materials and Methods: The study sample consisted of a total of 89 dental students. The student enrollment was done proforma and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)-28 were used to collect data and to assess the psychiatric morbidity. Statistical Analysis: Pearson's correlation followed by multivariate linear regression analysis was done to assess the effect of academic achievement, positive and negative event on the GHQ total score. Results: The overall mean GHQ total score in the study population was 5.33, with a SD of 4.85 which was above the cutoff (>4) score. Karl Pearson correlation co-efficient r-values for GHQ total score with 'academic achievement' and 'negative events' score were 0.718 and 0.628 respectively and p-values were 0.001 and 0.001. Conclusion: The poor academic performance and negative events had strong impact on psychological morbidity of dental students. The findings of our study can't be generalized for all undergraduate dental student due to small sample size and non inclusion of many other variables.