Abstract
Abstract
Background: Depressive symptoms can significantly affect academic performance, but there is limited evidence to support the relationship between symptom severity and academic failure among Iraqi pharmacy students.
Objective: To describe depressive symptom severity and evaluate its association with self-reported first-semester pass or fail status among undergraduate pharmacy students.
Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study included 356 undergraduate pharmacy students at Baghdad College of Medical Sciences. Students who reported a history of mental illness were excluded from the analysis. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and the academic outcome was self-reported first-semester pass or fail status.
Results: The mean age of the participants was 20.3 ± 1.8 years, with 67.1% being female. 35.1% reported moderately severe or severe symptoms, and 50 students (14.0%) reported academic failure. Academic outcome was related to the severity category of depression (χ²(4) = 14.58, p = 0.006; Cramér’s V = 0.20). Students who failed had higher PHQ-9 scores than those who passed (14.4 ± 6.3 versus 12.1 ± 5.7; Welch’s t(62.8) = 2.42, p = 0.018). After adjustment, higher PHQ-9 score was still associated with academic failure (adjusted OR = 1.09 per point, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.15, p = 0.003). There was no indication of lack of fit (p = 0.472) in the Hosmer and Lemeshow test.
Conclusions: Greater depressive symptom severity was associated with higher odds of self-reported academic failure among Iraqi pharmacy students. The findings support prospective evaluation of confidential mental health and academic support pathways, accompanied by clinical assessment and appropriate referral when needed.
| Intend to be published in the IJPS ? | Yes |
|---|---|
| Has the manuscript been published | not published |
