Study finds high rate of depression, suicidal ideation among medical students

An obvious contributor is inadequate sleep.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-12/tjnj-sfh120516.php

Public Release: 6-Dec-2016
Study finds high rate of depression, suicidal ideation among medical students
The JAMA Network Journals

A review and analysis of nearly 200 studies involving 129,000 medical students in 47 countries found that the prevalence of depression or depressive symptoms was 27 percent, that 11 percent reported suicidal ideation during medical school, and only about 16 percent of students who screened positive for depression reportedly sought treatment, according to a study appearing in the December 6 issue of JAMA, a medical education theme issue.

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"Possible causes of depressive and suicidal symptomatology in medical students likely include stress and anxiety secondary to the competitiveness of medical school. Restructuring medical school curricula and student evaluations might ameliorate these stresses. Future research should also determine how strongly depression in medical school predicts depression during residency and whether interventions that reduce depression in medical students carry over in their effectiveness when those students transition to residency. Furthermore, efforts are continually needed to reduce barriers to mental health services, including addressing the stigma of depression."

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