Prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in medical students in the city of Santos

Rosana Denobile Serra,Sandra Lopes Mattos E Dinato,Marcos Montani Caseiro

doi:10.1590/0047-2085000000081

Rosana Denobile Serra, Sandra Lopes Mattos E Dinato + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/0047-2085000000081

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Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective Ascertain the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in medical students, considering data in the literature that indicate higher vulnerability to emotional disorders in this population. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study with a sample of 657 (98%) students. The instruments used were: questionnaire of socioeconomic-demographic characteristics, Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory. Results Predominance of the female gender (61%), aged between 17 and 30 years (98%), Catholic religion (64.2%) from the city of São Paulo (40.7%) and other cities in the state (35.7%); 30% presented depressive symptoms and 21% anxiety symptoms. Female students had higher scores both for depression (34.8%) and for anxiety (26.8%). As regards the course year, the highest rates were found in the 5th year (40.7%) for depression and in the 2nd year for anxiety (28.8%). Conclusion The data obtained in this study (30%) agreed with the literature regarding the prevalence of depressive symptoms in medical students, but this index was higher compared to the population in general (15.1% to 16.8%), and related to people in São Paulo city (18.5%). Concerning anxiety the rates found were slightly lower than those in specific literature but higher than those in literature for the population in general (8% to 18%) and in city São Paulo (16.8%). These indices indicate that the school of medicine may play a role as a predisposing and/or triggering factor in some students. The results suggest that more attention should be directed to 5th year students, who are beginning the internship period.

Highlights

Studies indicate that the course of Medicine is a period of significant anguish for students of this field and that the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms is higher among them than in the general population[1,2,3]
Studies in scientific literature confirm that, in several parts of the world, medical students show higher rates of depressive and anxiety symptoms compared to the general population, possibly related to factors that are inherent to the academic process[1,2,4,5,7,8,9,10,11,22,23,26,29,30,31,32,33,34]
This study found a 21.5% prevalence of anxiety symptoms (Table 4)

Summary

Introduction

Studies indicate that the course of Medicine is a period of significant anguish for students of this field and that the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms is higher among them than in the general population[1,2,3].In several parts of the world, such as the Middle East, Europe, USA and South America research is carried out on this topic[2,4]. I.e., “the ability to identify our feelings and the others; to be motivated and to manage well our emotions inside ourselves and our relationships”[12], linked to personality traits which will play an important role in facing these situations in the under graduate period Investigation of this subject was intensified when it was found that some students became vulnerable to the onset of affective disorders during their college years, the most frequent alterations being of a depressive and anxious nature[1,6,10]

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion