Medical students' self-report of mental health conditions
Rael D. Strous1, Netta Shoenfeld1, Avi Lehman2, Aharon Wolf2, Leah Snyder2 and Ori Barzilai2
1Beer Yaakov Mental Health Center, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel
2Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Submitted: 13/07/2011; Accepted: 27/11/2011; Published: 02/01/2012
Int J Med Educ. 2012; 3:1-5; doi: 10.5116/ijme.4ed1.d1e0
© 2012 Rael D. Strous et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use of work provided the original work is properly cited. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Abstract
Objectives: To investigate the subjective presence of a range of subsyndromal and syndromal mental health conditions in medical students, and to compare the presence of these conditions between preclinical and clinical training.
Methods: A cross sectional study was used among first-and fifth-year medical students. Student reported their mental health conditions using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria, the fourth version (DSM-IV). Data analysis was based on 110 questionnaires.
Results: A total of 61 students (55.5%) reported that they experienced symptoms of mental illness, albeit many with minimum severity. More than 50 % of the students reported that they experienced Axis I and Axis II disorders, which mostly were mood disorders (38% in year 1 and 35% in year 5) and obsessive-compulsive traits (41% in year 1 and 46% in year 5), respectively. The least common disorders reported were psychotic disorders (5% in year 1 and 0% in year 5) and schizotypal traits (7% in year 1 and 2% in year 5). Fifth-year students reported more Axis I disorders than first-year students. Female students reported more Axis I disorders than their male peers. A further analysis indicated that there was no significant association between age and Axis disorders. Several conditions were comorbid with other mental illnesses.
Conclusions: A great number of students reported that they experience mental health conditions with minimal severity. This implies a need for indispensable ongoing support programs for the special needs of medical students.