Depression amongst medical students
Keywords:
medical students, depression, under treatment, under diagnosis, stigmaAbstract
For two decades the information concerning the state of mental health and particularly depression among medical students has been more and more alarming. Research shows that one quarter of medical students in USA suffer symptoms of mental disorder. The students are under significant training stress which can cause subjective distress and influence physical health. According to some data the number of the depressive disorders among the medical students is doubled compared to general population. The prevalence of the depressive disorders increases over the course of the medical school. Furthermore, although medical students are taught to view mental health disorders in a manner similar to any other disease, depressed students tend to associate a significant stigma with depression when it comes to coping with their own personal mental health issues. They also underestimated the risk of depression among their population. For those reasons despite the availability of effective medications and confidential mental health services, medical students with depression remain undiagnosed and undertreated. The increased prevalence of depression among medical students and the under diagnosis of the disorder in this population has many important consequences that extend beyond the individual student. This paper examines the prevalence of depression amongst medical students, some of the reasons and consequences of their decreased treatment and proposed solutions to help alleviate this burden.
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