Health-related quality of life of medical students

Medical Education 2010: 44 : 227–235 Objectives Mental problems such as stress, anxiety and depression have been described among medical students and are associated with poor academic and professional performance. It has been speculated that these problems impair students’ quality of life (QoL). Th...

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Published in:	Medical education Vol. 44; no. 3; pp. 227 - 235
Main Authors:	Paro, Helena B M S, Morales, Nívea M O, Silva, Carlos H M, Rezende, Carlos H A, Pinto, Rogério M C, Morales, Rogério R, Mendonça, Tânia M S, Prado, Marília M
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-03-2010 Wiley-Blackwell
Subjects:	Adolescent Adult Anxiety - epidemiology Biological and medical sciences Cross-Sectional Studies Depression - epidemiology Emotions Female Health participants Health Status Humans Male Medical sciences Miscellaneous Psychometrics Public health. Hygiene Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine Quality of Life Stress, Psychological - epidemiology Students, Medical - psychology Students, Medical - statistics & numerical data Young Adult Medicine Physician Resident (student) Health-Related Quality of Life Public health Teaching
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Summary:	Medical Education 2010: 44 : 227–235 Objectives Mental problems such as stress, anxiety and depression have been described among medical students and are associated with poor academic and professional performance. It has been speculated that these problems impair students’ quality of life (QoL). The authors aimed to assess the health‐related QoL (HRQL) of medical students throughout their 6 years of training at a school with a traditional curriculum. Methods Of a total of 490 students attending our institution’s medical school, 38 were surveyed in February 2006 (incoming Year 1 group, surveyed when students were in the second week of Year 1 classes) and 352 were surveyed in February 2007 (students in Years 1–6). Students self‐reported their HRQL and depressive symptoms using the Short‐Form Health Survey (SF‐36) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Comparisons were performed according to year in training, presence of depressive symptoms, gender, living arrangements and correlations with family income. Results The students’ ages ranged from 18 to 31 years (median 22.3 years). Students in Years 2, 3, 4 and 6 had lower scores for mental and physical dimensions of HRQL compared with the incoming Year 1 group (P < 0.01), with the largest difference observed for Year 3 students. Students with depressive symptoms had lower scores in all domains of the SF‐36 (P < 0.01). Female students had lower HRQL scores than males (P < 0.01). No differences were observed for students living with versus without family and no correlation with family income was found. Conclusions Major impairments in HRQL were observed among Year 3 students, students with depressive symptoms and women. Medical schools should institute efforts to ensure that students’ HRQL and emotional support are maintained, particularly during critical phases of medical training.
Bibliography:	istex:6EBAE7E8C2A4766C059B7A0B54E7E2506E9E742C ark:/67375/WNG-VZHGSFPD-G ArticleID:MEDU3587 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0308-0110 1365-2923
DOI:	10.1111/j.1365-2923.2009.03587.x