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Table 1 Descriptive characteristics of the students from the faculties of Management Studies & Commerce, Science and Medicine

From: Prevalence of depression among students at a Sri Lankan University: A study using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) during the COVID-19 pandemic

Variable

Number of students

(N = 637)

Students without

MDD (N = 446)

Students with MDD*

(N = 191)

P value**

Sex

    

Female

378 (59%)

271 (72%)

107 (28%)

0.30

Male

259 (41%)

175 (68%)

84 (32%)

 

Age

    

< 22 years

124 (19%)

93 (75%)

31 (25%)

0.09

23 years

226 (36%)

166 (73%)

60 (27%)

 

24 years

178 (28%)

113 (63%)

65 (37%)

 

> 25 years

109 (17%)

74 (68%)

35 (32%)

 

Ethnicity

    

Moor/Muslim

46 (7%)

39 (85%)

7 (15%)

0.02

Sinhalese

290 (46%)

191 (66%)

99 (34%)

 

Tamil

301 (47%)

216 (72%)

85 (28%)

 

Father’s

schooling

    

< 11 years

231 (36%)

153 (66%)

78 (34%)

0.14

> 11 years

406 (64%)

293 (72%)

113 (28%)

 

Mother’s schooling

    

< 11 years

199 (31%)

130 (65%)

69 (35%)

0.09

> 11 years

438 (69%)

316 (72%)

122 (28%)

 

Faculty

    

Management#

305 (48%)

204 (67%)

101(33%)

0.25

Science

202 (32%)

148 (73%)

54 (27%)

 

Medicine

130 (20%)

94 (72%)

36 (28%)

 
  1. *MDD - Major Depressive Disorder (PHQ-9 score ≥ 10). **Chi-squared was used to compare proportions. Values that are significant at the p < 0.05 level are shown in bold. #Management Studies & Commerce faculty.