Anxiety level among undergraduate medical students: A cross-sectional study using the Hamilton: A scale

Introduction: Medical education being a stressful course; high levels of anxiety and depression have been studied and documented among medical students all over the globe. Anxiety, being the precursor of depression, needs special attention and screening in Indian medical students.

Objectives: To study the level of anxiety in medical students of different academic years.

Methodology: A self-reporting questionnaire using ‘Google forms’ format was shared by WhatsApp and emails to undergraduate medical students of college. The questionnaire contained demographic details and Hamilton-A scale to assess the anxiety having maximum score of 56. Written consent was part of questionnaire and only consented forms were accepted. The responses were collected anonymously and analyzed using MS excel 2007 and EpiInfo 7.2

Results: Total 623 students participated in the study, of which 54.4% were male. 73%, students had minimal to mild anxiety, whereas 15% and 13% had mild to moderate and moderate to severe anxiety respectively. Severe anxiety in male students was higher (16.07%) as compared to female students (8.71). Final year medical students (24.11%) and Day Scholars (19.57%) showed highest severe anxiety.

Conclusion: Anxiety is prevalent in medical students. Female and final year students reported higher levels on the anxiety score.