Relationship of physical activity and depression among military and non-military medical students

Abstract

Background: Military and medical environment when combined turn out to be notoriously relevant in regards to depressive symptoms due to cumulative significance of the risk factors involved in the two. This study was aimed to determine the prevalence of depression among military medical cadets and its comparison with non military medical students. Methods: Three-hundred undergraduate medical students of CMH Lahore Medical College were divided into two groups, 150 military medical cadets and 150 non-military medical students. Gotland Male Depression scale (GMDS) was used for depression. Physical activity was recorded in a detailed manner through questionnaire. Chi-square was used to compare the frequencies between groups and p<0.05 was taken significant. Results: GMDS revealed that non military medical students have more depression, when compared with military medical students. We found significantly higher number of non-military medical student with depression as compared to military category (p=0.000). We also found statistically significant results on the basis of duration and frequency of physical activity. There were significantly higher number of military students who were doing physical activity for longer duration (p=0.02) and more frequently (p=0.007) when compared with non-military medical students. Conclusions: We report higher prevalence of depression among non-military medical students compared to their military counterparts. Physical activity has positive impact on mental health. Those exercising regularly have better mood than those being sedentary.

Pak J Physiol 2020;16(1):28–30