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

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.

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.