Prevalence of depressive symptoms and obsessive–compulsive personality traits among pharmacy students

Objective: To survey current pharmacy: students to determine the rates of depressive and obsessive compulsive personality symptoms.Methods: Approximately 320 students currently enrolled at a school of pharmacy were sent an online survey. Symptoms of depression were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) were evaluated using questions derived from the diagnostic criteria of OCPD as found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV-TR (DSM-1V-TR).Results: A total of 166 students (51.5%) completed the survey. The prevalence of any type of depressive symptom (>5 points on the PHQ-9 Scale) was 524% (n = 87). The majority of students (80.1%; n = 133) declared they had never been diagnosed with a mental health condition; 13.9% (n = 23) had been diagnosed with depression. Of those sampled, 30% (n = 50) of students indicated the presence of at least four out of eight symptoms of OCPD.Conclusion: The prevalence of depressive symptoms, OCPD symptoms, and other mental health disorders in a school of pharmacy: appears to be relatively high. Continued recognition and awareness of these disorders is critical to the overall health and well-being of pharmacy students. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.