Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41758812›Full record

ArticlePLOS mental health2026

Anxiety and depression and its correlates among undergraduate medical students in Nepal: A cross-sectional study.

Milan Gaihre, Aashish Rana, Sandhya Niroula, Amit Kumar Sejuwal, Rhea Dhakal, Alisha Adhikari, Surya Devkota, Rakshya Shrestha

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Article in PLOS mental health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Milan GaihreDepartment of Internal Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), Kathmandu, Nepal.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9795-2088
Aashish RanaInstitute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0544-8435
Sandhya NiroulaInstitute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Amit Kumar SejuwalInstitute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Rhea DhakalDepartment of Internal Medicine, Jacobi Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America.
Alisha AdhikariChitwan Medical College, Tribhuvan University, Chitwan, Nepal.
Surya DevkotaDepartment of Cardiology, Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Centre, Institute of Medicine, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Rakshya ShresthaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), Kathmandu, Nepal.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Mental health problems like anxiety and depression among medical students are increasing. The academic stress, hectic duty, lack of personal and social life, financial hardship, etc., make them more vulnerable to poor mental health outcomes. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of anxiety and depression and their correlates among undergraduate medical students in Nepal. A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023 among 579 undergraduate MBBS and BDS students (≥18 years) enrolled in medical colleges under Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu University, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, and BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Nepal. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed using the validated Nepali version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Univariate analysis was carried out using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Associations were examined using the chi-square test, followed by multivariate binary logistic regression. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05 with a 95% confidence interval. The mean age of the participants was 21.0 ± 2.2 years and 53.7% were male. The prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms was 46.3% and 43.7%, respectively. Anxiety was significantly associated with female sex (AOR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.49-0.98), Brahmin/Chhetri ethnic group (AOR = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.45-0.91), and presence of any disease (AOR = 8.51, 95% CI: 1.88-38.48). Depression was significantly associated with younger age (AOR = 1.96, 95% CI: 1.10-3.49), Brahmin/Chhetri ethnic group (AOR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.38-0.78), father's formal employment (AOR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.13-2.33), being fourth year student (AOR = 3.25, 95% CI: 1.49-7.08) and daily consumption of green leafy vegetables (AOR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.46-0.94). A high prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms was observed among undergraduate medical students in Nepal. These findings highlight the need for supportive academic environments and lifestyle-focused interventions to improve student well-being and strengthen the future healthcare workforce.

Identifiers

PMID41758812
PMCPMC12948113

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.