epidemiology of depression among the students of kerman university of medical sciences, 2001

background: depression is one of the most prevalence mental disorders in the world. this cross-sectional study carried out to determine the prevalence of depression among the students of kerman university of medical sciences and its relationship with their demographic characteristics in october of 200 1. methods: the study was performed on 771 students (574 female and 197 male) by stratified sampling and using beck standardized questionnaire. results: the findings of the study reveal that about 32% (28% of male and 34% of female) of the students suffered from different degrees of depression. there was no significant relation between the rate of depression and age, sex, marital status, residency, parent's life, parent's level of education and term of study. as spirituality can decrease the depression in human, we suggested that planning for increase the faiths of students in necessary. conclusion : depression was common among the student irrespective to the age, field of education, and marital status.