The Untreated Epidemic Of Medical Student Depression

According to a new meta-analysis spanning four decades of research, 28 percent of medical students are depressed and 5.8 percent have considered suicide. Researchers from Singapore analyzed 77 studies, examining nearly 63,000 medical students across the globe. Distress in medical students is not just a first world problem. The percentage of students with depression or depressive symptoms ranged from 20 percent in Europe to 31.8 percent in the Middle East. Medical students in North America had the second highest prevalence at 30.3 percent. Still, there were no statistically significant differences in depression by region, sex, or even between medical students and non-medical students. As one of the authors of a study included in the meta-analysis, it is clear to me that the numbers do not capture the stress students face. During medical school, I traveled to Mainland China to conduct a study on depression and suicidal thoughts in medical students. I was shocked while speaking with Chinese medical school students who were dealing with stressors we rarely encounter in the United States. One student said that medicine was not his first career choice, but his university entrance exam score was not high enough to place into computer science. Also, students feared for their safety because of increasing patient violence towards health care professionals. External stressors alone may not be the culprit. Physicians are more likely to be obsessive and perfectionists, which may make t...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Featured Health Professionals Population Health Behavioral Health counseling depression Graduate medical education medical school Mental Health Source Type: blogs