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Prevalence of suicidal ideation among medical students at a university in Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

T. Prata ,
D. Calcides ,
E. Vasconcelhos ,
A. Carvalho ,
E. De Melo  and
E. Costa
T. Prata*
Affiliation:
Medicine Department, Federal University of Sergipe, Aracaju, Brazil
D. Calcides
Affiliation:
University Hospital Of The Federal University Of Sergipe, Federal University of Sergipe, Aracaju, Brazil
E. Vasconcelhos
Affiliation:
Medicine Department Lagarto, Federal University of Sergipe, Lagarto, Brazil
A. Carvalho
Affiliation:
Pharmacy Department Lagarto, Federal University of Sergipe, Lagarto, Brazil
E. De Melo
Affiliation:
Medicine Department, Federal University of Sergipe, Aracaju, Brazil
E. Costa
Affiliation:
Medicine Department, Federal University of Sergipe, Aracaju, Brazil
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Personal and environmental factors may contribute to psychological distress in medical students. As a result, they are more susceptible to suicidal ideation, a serious public health problem.

Objectives

Estimate the prevalence and recognize associated factors of Suicide Ideation and Suicide Attempt among medical students at the Federal University of Sergipe, Brazil.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was performed with randomly selected students between April and June 2019. A structured online questionnaire about sociodemographic characteristics, educational process, and the current psych emotional experiences, besides Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSI), which detects the presence of suicidal ideation, were applied. Statistical evaluation was performed with descriptive analysis and logistic regression for the evaluation of multiple variables.

Results

The study included 133 students, with an average age of 22.9±3.5 and 51,9% were male. Among this sample, 27,1% had suicidal ideation. The frequency is higher in those students who family income <10 minimum wages (OR=3.47) and who were not satisfied with the course (OR=3.52). Furthermore, the frequency of suicide attempt was 15.8%. It was higher among those who claimed to use a doctor-prescribed psychopharmaceutical (OR=10.46) and who lost some discipline in the course (OR=8.17). Ideation and attempt were significantly associated (p<0.001).

Conclusions

Frequency of suicidal ideation was high, associated with dissatisfaction related to the educational process, as well as lower family income. History of attempted suicide was also frequent and associated with ideation. Intervention and prevention measures are required.

Keywords

SuicideMedical Studentsmental healthMedical Education
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 64 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2021 , pp. S587
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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