The Association Between Physical Symptoms and Depression Among Medical Students in Egypt

To examine the association between depression and physical symptoms among medical students in Egypt.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Depression Anxiety Disorder; Physical Disorders

Detailed Description

The Google Form will be open for one week from the start of the academic term. It is divided into three parts:

Demographic Data - which includes age, academic level, relationship status, and whether the student intends to work while studying.

Patient Health Questionnaire PHQ-9: Assesses symptoms of poor mental health in the two weeks prior to the start of term.

Patient Health Questionnaire PHQ-15: This is a measure of physical symptoms felt in the week prior to the commencement of the academic term.

The questionnaire will be distributed among different medical faculties in Egypt and all students will be required to fill it out. Data analysis will be done through SPSS to explore the relationship between psychological and physical symptoms.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 155

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Egypt
  • Giza
    • Cairo, Giza, Egypt
      • Cairo university

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Medical students enrolled in any medical program in Egypt.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Medical students enrolled in any medical program in Egypt.
• Age range: Typically 19 to 30 years (or based on your study's demographic focus).
• Willingness to participate and provide informed consent.
• Self-reported symptoms of depression: Those who indicate moderate to severe symptoms on screening tools (e.g., PHQ-9).
• Physical symptoms: Those who report experiencing physical symptoms (e.g., headaches, fatigue, gastrointestinal discomfort, etc.) on a checklist.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Non-medical students (students outside of the medical program).
• Students with a history of major medical conditions that may confound the physical symptoms (e.g., chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, or neurological disorders).
• Students with a diagnosed psychiatric disorder (e.g., bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, etc.) or those already undergoing psychiatric treatment.
• Non-consenting individuals: Students who decline to participate in the study or do not provide informed consent.
• Incomplete responses: Students who fail to provide adequate or valid responses in the questionnaires.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
PATIENT HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE (PHQ-9)	The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) used for screening, diagnosing, monitoring, and measuring the severity of depression. It consists of nine questions; Each item is scored from 0 (Not at all) to 3 (Nearly every day), leading to a total score ranging from 0 to 27. Scores can be categorized as follows: 1-4: Minimal or no depression 5-9: Mild depression 10-14: Moderate depression 15-19: Moderately severe depression 20-27: Severe depression	1 week
PATIENT HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS (PHQ-15)	PATIENT HEALTH QUESTIONNAIRE PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS (PHQ-15) used to assess the severity of somatic (physical) symptoms. Consists of 15 common physical symptoms (e.g., stomach pain, dizziness, fatigue). Each symptom is rated based on how much it has bothered the individual in the past 7 days. Scoring system: 0 = Not bothered at all; = Bothered a little; = Bothered a lot Total score range: 0 to 30 Minimal: 0-4 Low: 5-9 Medium: 10-14 High: 15-30	1 week

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Cairo University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 8, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 15, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): February 20, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 6, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 6, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 21, 2025
• Last Verified: February 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Behavioral Symptoms; Mood Disorders; Anxiety Disorders; Depression; Depressive Disorder
• Other Study ID Numbers: NOT YET (Other Grant/Funding Number: Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No