Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly difficult for populations at risk for mental health problems, such as healthcare professionals and medical students. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of the pandemic on mental health in a sample of Mexican medical students with and without a mental health diagnosis. Method Longitudinal and descriptive study based on scales of suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms and risk of alcohol consumption, conducted in April and December 2020. Results Sample includes 247 medical students, 64.4% are women. Prevalence of depression increased between April and December from 19.84% to 40.08%. In the case of women from 23.67% to 42.60% (χ2 = 0.000) and in men from 11.54% to 34.62% (χ2 = 0.001). In April 16.92% of healthy students presented some sign of depression and in December the percentage increased to 40.80% (χ2 = 0.000). Regarding medicated students, the prevalence in April was 32.61% and in December it was 36.96% (χ2 = 0.662). In April, the medicated students with risk of suicidal ideation were 17 out of 46 (36.96%), compared to the students without a diagnosis of psychiatric illness were 29 out of 201 (13.43%) (χ2 = 0.000). For December, the non-medicated students at risk of suicidal ideation were 34 out of 201 (16.91%), and the medicated students were 12 out of 46 (26.09%) (χ2 = 0.149). Conclusions The pandemic has increase the rate of depression in medical students, being more severe in women. Students under psychiatric treatment showed a higher prevalence of depression; however, the fact of being under treatment resulted in a protective factor for the increase in the prevalence of depression. It is important to deepen the understanding of the causes of depression and to disseminate among the university community the benefits of early detection and treatment of people with socio-emotional disorders.

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Introducción: El síndrome de burnout estudiantil es un fenómeno psicosocial producto de la exposición crónica a estresores propios del proceso formativo y en los aspirantes a la carrera de medicina confluyen factores desencadenantes como la exigencia académica y la competencia por ser seleccionado. Objetivo: Determinar la presencia de burnout en aspirantes a la carrera de médico cirujano de una facultad de medicina particular de la ciudad de México. Método: Estudio prospectivo, transversal y analítico, realizado en 344 estudiantes de los grupo I y grupo II de los cursos propedéuticos de 2014. El instrumento utilizado fue la Escala Unidimensional de Burnout Estudiantil y una encuesta sociodemográfica. El grado de burnout se determinó según el baremo propuesto por Barraza. Los datos fueron analizados con el paquete estadístico SPSS Statistics 23. Resultados: Se detectó la presencia de burnout leve en ambos grupos de aspirantes. Los estudiantes del grupo GII presentaron mayor nivel de burnout. Este grupo se caracterizó por una mayor matrícula y menor edad. No hubo  correlación entre burnout y el sexo, así como con el tiempo de traslado. Conclusiones: El estudio muestra la presencia de un nivel leve del síndrome de burnout en aspirantes a la carrera de medicina. El incremento en la matrícula y, por lo tanto, del grado de competencia por ingresar en la carrera puede ser  en factor que favorezca el desarrollo de burnout.

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