Abstract

Background: Depression often starts at a younger age and due to its increasing prevalence and various risk factors in,this age group and its impact on work, social, and family life. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to assess the,magnitude of depression and functional impairment among the 1st year university students and to study the association of,various sociodemographic variables and functional impairment with depression.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional,study was conducted among the 1st year students of a university situated in Mangalore, Dakshina Kannada district of,Karnataka, for 1 month. Sociodemographic profile of the study participants and information on depression and functional,impairment was collected using a predesigned and pretested questionnaire.
Results: Prevalence of depression was found,to be 70.5% of which majority of them were having mild depression (56.12%). Female gender and various faculties were,the statistical significant attributes of depression (P < 0.05). There was statistically significant difference in the mean,scores of functional disability among individuals with depression against without depression (P < 0.001) and patient,health questionnaire-9 scores were found to have positive correlation with functional impairment scores (P < 0.001).,Conclusion: The prevalence of depression is high among the university students and requires rigorous efforts for early,diagnosis and planning appropriate interventions.