Factors associated with depressive symptoms in a sample of Brazilian medical students

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: 1 - Verify the prevalence of depressive symptoms in first to fourth-year medical students using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). 2 - Establish correlations between target factors and higher or lower BDI scores. 3 - Investigate the relationship between the prevalence of depressive symptoms and the demand for psychological care offered by the Centro Universitário Lusíada. METHOD: Cross-sectional study of 290 first to fourth-year medical students; implementation of the BDI, socio-demographic survey, and evaluation of satisfaction with progress. RESULTS: The study sample was 59% female and 41% male. Mean BDI was 6.3 (SD 5.8). Overall prevalence of depressive symptoms was 23.1%. The following associations were statistically significant (p<0.05): among students for whom the course failed to meet original expectations, who were dissatisfied with the course, or who came from the interior of the State (20.5%, 12.5%, and 24.4% of the total sample, respectively), for 40%, 36.1% and 36.4%, respectively, the BDI was consistent with some degree of depression. CONCLUSION: The study showed that there is higher prevalence of depressive symptoms in medical students than in the general population

Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression among Medical Students

“…In southern Brazil, the estimated prevalence of depression in the general population of the same age group of that in this study is 12.6% 11 . The present study showed a prevalence of 32.8%, which is similar to that found in other studies that have used the BDI for the analysis of depression among medical students 3,[12][13][14][15] . The observed prevalence rate was higher than that found in two studies that, while using the same cut-off points, reported prevalence rates of depression of 23.1% 12 and 26.8% 13 among medical students.…”

“…During that period, medical students undergo psychological transformations, are still immature and feel insecure about their responsibilities as future physicians 3 . However, similarly to what had occurred in the two mentioned studies, 2,12 there was no statistical significance between the medical school semester and psychiatric disorders in this study.…”

“…Several reasons could explain the higher prevalence rates of depression and anxiety in women compared to men, including greater social freedom for expression of feelings, greater exposure to situations of risk for depression, and physiological and hormonal factors 21,23 . The family environment is seen as an important protective factor against the development of depressive disorders 1,12,14,[24][25] .…”

Depressão entre estudantes de medicina no Brasil: uma revisão sistemática

“…Teses, dissertações e monografias também foram excluídas da amostra, uma vez que estes trabalhos acadêmicos não passaram pelo processo de validação por pares em periódicos científicos. A análise dos estudos selecionados 6,9,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] ratificou o encontrado nas revisões de literatura científica quanto à prevalência de sintomas depressivos entre os estudantes de medicina. [1][2][3]5 Contudo, foi encontrada uma variação muito grande entre os resultados do estudo: a prevalência variou de 5,6% a 79%.…”

Dilemas e frustrações do estudante de medicina

“…Sabe-se que as consequências para os estudantes quando insatisfeitos e frustrados, segundo estudos, é a maior susceptibilidade a problemas acadêmicos e pessoais como sintomas depressivos, desonestidade acadêmica, menor cuidado com a saúde pessoal, alterações nos relacionamentos 5,28 . Aqueles que enfrentam maiores dificuldades com o curso e pior performance acadêmica, tendem a abandoná-lo, segundo revisão sistemática que avaliou as causas de desistências no curso de medicina 29 .…”