Prevalence and assessment of depression symptoms and their relationship with sociodemographic and anthropometric factors among students at the Federal University of Rondônia, Porto Velho.

Abstract

This study investigated the prevalence and factors associated with depression among students at the Federal University of Rondônia (UNIR), using the Beck Inventory and clinical, anthropometric, and lifestyle variables. The sample of 109 participants showed a high prevalence of depressive disorder symptoms. In our sample, 56.9% of participants presented high scores of depressive symptoms, 30.3% showed scores ranging from mild to moderate, 9.2% had scores in the moderate to severe range, and 3.7% of participants showed severe symptom scores. Regular physical exercise had a significant protective effect against the manifestation of depressive symptoms and reduced the prevalence of moderate to severe symptoms by 89% (p < 0.001). The use of anxiolytics and the presence of abdominal bloating were associated with greater severity of mood disorder symptoms, although the latter lost significance after correction for multiple comparisons. There was no statistical association with sex, smoking, alcohol consumption, drug use, or obesity. The findings reinforce the role of physical activity in mental health and indicate a possible relationship between gastrointestinal symptoms and depression. It is concluded that preventive and therapeutic strategies focused on physical activity and intestinal health may contribute to reducing the prevalence and severity of depression.