Mental health in medical students: longitudinal study

Abstract:

Introduction:

Few studies have longitudinally evaluated the mental health and quality of life of medical students.

Objective:

This study aimed to compare the scores of symptoms of psychiatric disorders in medical students over three years of graduation, discussing the context of students’ mental health longitudinally during the training process.

Method:

This is a longitudinal which study started in 2015, with students who were attending the 1st and 7th undergraduate courses of the three medical schools in the north of Minas Gerais. The same classes were also approached in the following years, when they were in the 3rd and 9th, and in the 5th and 11th periods. Depressive symptoms, daytime sleepiness level, general health level, Burnout Syndrome dimensions, and quality of life were evaluated. The nonparametric Kruskal Wallis test was used to compare the three years of graduation.

Results:

Of the 248 students enrolled in the selected periods, 162 participated in 2015, 209 in 2016 and 221 in 2017. For beginner classes, the scores on the General Health Questionnaire, which indicates the presence of Common Mental Disorders, increased between 2015 and 2017. In the same period, there was an increase in the scores for disbelief dimension and a significant reduction in the scores for the professional efficacy dimension, from the Maslach Burnout Inventory, denoting worsening in mental health for this group. Among the classes evaluated from the middle of the course, there is a significant increase in the scores of the General Health Questionnaire and in the emotional exhaustion dimension of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Excessive daytime sleepiness presented oscillations during the periods.

Conclusions:

The results reflect a worsening in the mental health of these students throughout the course, especially between 2015 and 2017, in relation to Common Mental Disorders and professional exhaustion. This result calls attention to the need to adopt strategies that lead the student to deal with the stress factors inherent to the course, such as encouraging sports, psychological support, and the reorganization of the curricular structure of the course, with free periods for leisure.

Keywords:
Medical Students; Depression; Burnout; Quality of Life