The prevalence rate and associations of depressive symptoms and smoking among applied medical science students in a large university in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

Background: Depression among health professional students is a topic of concern. Often, it is associated with other unhealthy habits such as smoking. This study aimed to find the prevalence rate of depressive symptoms and smoking among applied medical science (AMS) students and their associations with each other. Methodology: In this descriptive-analytic, cross-sectional study, a stratified proportionate sampling strategy was used to select the study sample from the AMS school students, Saudi Arabia, during the academic year 2012–2013. The students were screened for depressive symptoms and smoking status using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI II) and a sociodemographic form, which included the smoking status. Results: The instruments were administered to 461 AMS students, representing 27.6% of the total school students (1672). Overall, 46% of the total sample (43% of males and 48% of females) had depressive symptoms. The rate of smoking currently was 11.5%, and it was much lower among female students (2.2%) as compared to their male counterparts (20.3%). There was a higher mean BDI score among current smokers compared to nonsmokers (P = 0.049). This association was statistically significant among the female students (P = 0.029) but not among the male students (P = 0.072). Conclusion: The rate of depressive symptoms in this study is alarmingly high. The association between the presence of depressive symptoms and smoking is in line with the literature on this topic. A qualitative study in this population is recommended to explore students' perception of the factors associated with smoking, depression, and stress and their coping strategies.