Screening of minor psychiatric disorders and burnout among a sample of medical students in St. Petersburg, Russia: a descriptive study

Egor Chumakov,Dinesh Bhugra,Nataliia Petrova,Tamila Mamatkhodjaeva,Andrew Molodynski,Antonio Ventriglio

doi:10.1186/s43045-021-00118-4

Abstract

BackgroundDespite the general interest of researchers around the world, there are few studies on the psychological wellbeing and burnout among medical students in Russia. The aim of this study was to perform screening for minor psychiatric disorders, burnout, problematic alcohol use, and quantify the psychological issues and stress among a sample of medical students in St. Petersburg, Russia.ResultsAccording to the GHQ-12, screening for minor mental disorders was positive in 140 students (85%). Screening for burnout using the OLBI showed positive results in 121 (73%) students for disengagement and 132 (80%) students for exhaustion. Screening with the CAGE tool identified a risk of alcohol consumption in 33 students (20%). Most students reported academic studies as the main source of stress in their life (n = 147; 89.1%).ConclusionsThis study identified very high levels of stress, burnout, risk of minor mental disorders, and problematic alcohol use among medical students in St. Petersburg, Russia. These findings suggest more attention is needed to the poor mental wellbeing and health in medical students in Russia.

Highlights

Despite the general interest of researchers around the world, there are few studies on the psychological wellbeing and burnout among medical students in Russia
The psychological adaptation of medical students and young doctors is of interest in many countries [1,2,3,4,5,6]
The aim of this study was to perform screening for minor psychiatric disorders, burnout, problematic alcohol use, and quantify the psychological issues and stress among a sample of medical students in St

Summary

Introduction

Despite the general interest of researchers around the world, there are few studies on the psychological wellbeing and burnout among medical students in Russia. The incidence of depression and anxiety in a sample of Russian medical students was 4 and 6 times higher, respectively, than in students of Medical students report pressure from their professional environment and academic studies are the main source of stress [3, 5, 15]. These stressful conditions may lead to high burnout rates [16,17,18,19,20,21]. The consequences of psychological adaptation difficulties in students are shown in social life, leading to substance misuse [12, 23] and reduced learning achievements [24, 25]

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