Symptoms of anxiety and depression among medical students: study of prevalence and associated factors

Abstract

Introduction: Common Mental Disorders (CMDs) imply psychological distress, interfering with daily activities, interpersonal relationships and quality of life. It is estimated that CMDs affect 9% to 12% of the world’s population and 12% to 15% of the Brazilian population in all age groups. Among different social groups, university students are more vulnerable to the development of anxiety and depression disorders. Objective: Therefore, this study proposed to estimate the prevalence rates and factors associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression in medical students in a capital city of northeast Brazil. Methods: This is a prevalence study, with a probabilistic sample of 1,339 students who regularly attended the 12 semesters of medical school in January 2018. Data were collected by applying a socioeconomic, behavioral and demographic survey and Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventories. The chi-square test was used to check for differences between anxiety and depression symptoms and socioeconomic and behavioral variables. The prevalence rates (total and by level of severity) and the crude and adjusted prevalence ratio (PR) were used as an association measure. Linear trend analysis was used to verify the existence of an association between anxiety and depression symptoms and semesters of the medical school. The variables that showed a crude PR with p <0.20 were incorporated into the multivariate analysis, using the robust Poisson regression model, to determine the adjusted PR. Results: The prevalence of symptoms of anxiety was 30.8%, whereas depression was 36.0%. The crude and adjusted PR for anxiety symptoms showed a statistically significant association with gender, age and sexual orientation. The crude and adjusted PR for symptoms of depression showed a statistically significant association with gender, ethnicity/skin color and sexual orientation. The correlation analyses between the semesters of the course and the presence of anxiety and depression symptoms indicated a weak coefficient of determination, with a descending characteristic and without statistical significance. Conclusions: As this is a prevalence study, this investigation does not allow conclusions on causality. Additional follow-up studies are needed to elucidate the course of anxiety and depression throughout the school semesters.

Sexual Orientation of Medical Students and Influence on Academic Performance and Mental Health

“…LGBTQIA+ students in the present investigation accounted for the majority of students with extremely severe depression, anxiety and stress; they also felt more alone, isolated and excluded. These findings are consistent with data described in national 7,20,21 and international 5,6,22 studies and confirm how the disparities in mental health status and social isolation are attributed to the stigma, discrimination and violence faced by LGBTQIA+ individuals as a marginalized minority group woldwide 1,23 .…”

“…In turn, a study carried out with Brazilian medical students also showed a higher prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms in homo/bisexual when compared with heterosexuals 7 . Even though, more researches focusing on LGBTQIA+ medical students are required.…”

Psychological disorders and coping strategies among undergraduate medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil

“…Regarding skin color/race, medical students in Brazil are more frequently white, wealthy, and upper-middle-class 44 , which contributed to the existence of racial inequality 45 . Before the pandemic period, non-white medical students had higher prevalence of depression symptoms and were also associated with poorer mental health and quality of life 33,46 . In the pandemic period, we confirmed a high prevalence rate of depression and stress symptoms in brown/black medical students.…”

Análise dos fatores de risco para depressão em estudantes de medicina: uma revisão sistemática da literatura

“…No estudo proposto por Sacramento et al (2021) conseguiu ser evidenciada. É importante salientar que, apesar desses achados terem sidos evidenciados em estudantes de medicina em nossa análise, eles são similares aos encontrados na população não acadêmica pertencente a essas classes, sendo possivelmente um reflexo dos preconceitos encontrados em nossa sociedade, que geram a marginalização dessas minorias sociais (Bailey et al, 2019;Granados-Cosme & Delgado-Sánchez, 2008).…”

“…similares foram encontrados por van derWalt et al (2020) em seu estudo. Ademais,Sacramento et al (2021), também avaliou a relação entre a prevalência de depressão e a etnia, sendo encontradas maiores taxas de sintomas depressivos entre os estudantes que se declararam de etnia não branca (pretos e pardos), o que poderia estar associado tanto a fatores históricos, como a escravidão e seus reflexos na atualidade, que geram redução das oportunidades, além de outros fatores ainda vigentes na atualidade, como racismo e discriminação social. Entretanto, no estudo de van der Walt et al (2020), esta associação não…”