Relationship between Eating Disorders, Stress and Depression in Medical Students of Lorestan University of Medical Sciences & Health Services

Background & Aim: Nowadays eating disorders are considered as one of the main psychological disorders. These types of disorder result in physical and mental health problems and affect the individuals' quality of life. This study has aimed to survey eating disorders and its relation with depression and stress in medical students of Lorestan University of Medical Sciences. Methodology: In a descriptive study, 340 university students were chosen by the use of simple random sampling and also three questionnaires had been used: 1) Eating attitude questionnaire (EAT-26), revised Beck depression inventory (BDI) and Students stressors questionnaire by Pouladi. Collected information was analyzed by the use of SPSS software and statistical tests. Findings: Based on research results 9.41% of students had eating disorder, 12.5% had average depression, 33.4% had severe depression, 12.5% had average stress and 31.3% had high stress. Relative frequency of eating disorder in medical students was the same based on gender, age, living conditions and marital status. Also there was a significant relation between relative frequency of eating disorder, depression severity and stress. Conclusion: Study findings showed that there was a relation between eating disorder, depression severity and stress; thus necessity of paying more attention to some mental symptoms such as depression and stress helps clinicians diagnose and cure eating disorders.