Prevalence of mental disorder and associated factors among medical students

Abstract

The World Health Organization estimates that nearly one billion people live with mental disorders,
particularly young adults. This study investigated the prevalence of common mental disorders among
medical students at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Araranguá campus. In total, 273 students
were evaluated using the Self-Reporting Questionnaire 20. The prevalence found was 56.04%, being
higher among women (70.39%), students with a family history of mental disorders (64.74%), previous
psychiatric condition (71.55%), under psychotherapy (68.18%), or using anxiolytics and antidepressants
(71.60%). The disorders were more frequent in the initial phase of the course (66.10%), among those
who were thinking of dropping out (74.11%), facing high personal demands (62.00%), and poor sleep
quality (63.09%). The findings reinforce the need for preventive actions, although the single sample and
cross-sectional design limit the generalization and temporal analysis of the associations.