Salud mental en estudiantes de medicina: un reto más allá del estrés académico

Authors

  • Emilio Salazar Flórez Profesor
  • Carlos Esteban Arias Castro
  • Daniella Quintero Pinzón
  • Andres Velásquez Peláez
  • Alejandra Segura Cardona
  • Luz Stella Giraldo Cardona

Keywords:

Psychological stress, health occupation students, mental disorders, risk factors

Abstract

Introduction: Medical education poses challenges that can induce academic stress. The context of Covid-19, new virtual education models, and telemedicine attention, among other requirements, makes it essential to focus on enhancing the mental health of future professionals. The objective was to identify factors associated with the mental health of medical students at a private university in Colombia, adjusted for academic stress.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 443 students. A questionnaire consisting of sociodemographic, lifestyle, and academic variables was completed, in addition to applying the Cognitive Systemic Inventory for the Study of Academic Stress (SISCO) and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-r) inventory. The risk factors that influence the severity index of mental health were analyzed using a Generalized Linear Model (GLM) by the Poisson family and log link.

Results: It was found that 68.4% were women, and 48.8% were aged between 20 and 25 years. 50.6% of students presented severe academic stress. Protective factors related to the mental health index included regular physical activity (RRa=0.78) and extracurricular activities (RRa=0.75), while risk factors were severe stress (RRa=2.34), use of psychoactive substances (RRa=1.36), energy drinks (RRa=1.35), having an occupation alternative to studying (RRa=1.47).

Conclussions: The current context demands the presence of mentally healthy physicians. The study provided information on the need for intervention in factors beyond academic stress, seeking to maintain student well-being and avoid academic dropout.

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Published

2024-03-09

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Vol. 41 No. 1 (2024): Vol. 41 No 1 (2024): Enero - Abril 2024

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