The first year of the rest of our lives: Mental health of medical students

• Autor(a) principal: Figueiredo , Danielle Soraya
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Lima, Karine Aparecida de, Figueiredo , Felipe Nathan da Silva, Bellodi, Patrícia Lacerda, Porfírio, Gustavo Bianchini, Carraro, Emerson, Figueiredo, David Livingstone Alves
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Research, Society and Development
• Texto Completo: https://rsdjournal.org/index.php/rsd/article/view/31651
• topic: Medical Students; Anxiety; Depression; Mental health.; Estudiantes de medicina; Ansiedad; Depresión; Salud mental.; Estudantes de Medicina; Ansiedade; Depressão; Saúde mental.

Medical students experience from the beginning of their training high levels of anxiety and other mental disorders associated with excessive academic activities, sleep deprivation, peer pressure and other aspects of medical education. The study aimed to analyze the prevalence of mental health disorders (anxiety, depression and stress) among incoming students. Students were evaluated at the beginning and end of the first year of the Medicine course. This is a cross-sectional study, carried out during the first year of the Medicine course at the Universidade Estadual do Centro-Oeste do Paraná. Clinical and sociodemographic information was collected. All students underwent psychological assessment through scales and cortisol measurement for stress assessment at the beginning and end of the first year of the medical course. The instruments BDI II - Beck Depression Inventory, EPD - Depressive Thoughts Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD) and Penn State University Worry Questionnaires were used. Students entered the university with severe anxiety, mild depression, low self-esteem, and deficits in relationship functionality, which worsened during the first year of the course. The data showed high levels of emotional disturbances, such as anxiety, worry and depression since the first year of medical school, with these worsening throughout the academic year. This demonstrates the need to adapt medical schools to receive new entrants and the importance of psycho-emotional support from the beginning of the medical course.