,
Hira Waris,
Hina Khan*,
Muhammad Hamza Umar,
Muhammad Amir Ashraf,
Rimsha Khan,
Leeda Ahmadi,
Muhammad Jasim All Mahmood,
Vikash Kumar Karmani
Background: In recent years, psychological stress has lead to increase in suicide cases readily among medical students of many countries. This study aims determine the prevalence of psychological stress, major depressive disorder, and suicidal ideation in Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) students of a government setup medical university in Pakistan. Methods: The data was gathered using a valid questionnaire containing 10 items Kessler psychological distress scale. The scale consists of the severity of the psychological distress from well, mild, moderate, and severe. Physical health questionnaire 2(PHQ2) was used for identifying the students with major depressive illness. Suicidal ideation was assessed using item no. 9 from PHQ9 questionnaire. Results: The overall prevalence of suicidal ideation, distress and major depression among 353 students of MBBS was 22.9%, 63.1%, 27.8% respectively. The students with major depression and moderate/severe distress are more probable to think about suicide. Moreover, Students who choose medicine under the family influence are more likely to have suicidal ideation. Besides this, we found that particularly females experience higher psychological distress as compared to males. Conclusion: In the overall study, it is identified that suicidal ideation is strongly correlated to depression and distress. However, controlling these factors at an early stage can prevent the suicidal thoughts, which inevitably can reduce the suicide attempts not only in medical students but could also be valuable for students of different fields.
| Published in | American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience (Volume 12, Issue 3) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajpn.20241203.12 |
| Page(s) | 59-66 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Mental Health of Medical Students, Major Depression, Psychological Distress, Suicidal Ideation
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APA Style
Sarwar, A., Waris, H., Khan, H., Umar, M. H., Ashraf, M. A., et al. (2024). Suicidal Ideation, Psychological Distress and Depression in Medical Students of Pakistan: Surviving or Thriving. American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 12(3), 59-66. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20241203.12
ACS Style
Sarwar, A.; Waris, H.; Khan, H.; Umar, M. H.; Ashraf, M. A., et al. Suicidal Ideation, Psychological Distress and Depression in Medical Students of Pakistan: Surviving or Thriving. Am. J. Psychiatry Neurosci. 2024, 12(3), 59-66. doi: 10.11648/j.ajpn.20241203.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ajpn.20241203.12,
author = {Anum Sarwar and Hira Waris and Hina Khan and Muhammad Hamza Umar and Muhammad Amir Ashraf and Rimsha Khan and Leeda Ahmadi and Muhammad Jasim All Mahmood and Vikash Kumar Karmani},
title = {Suicidal Ideation, Psychological Distress and Depression in Medical Students of Pakistan: Surviving or Thriving
},
journal = {American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience},
volume = {12},
number = {3},
pages = {59-66},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajpn.20241203.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20241203.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajpn.20241203.12},
abstract = {Background: In recent years, psychological stress has lead to increase in suicide cases readily among medical students of many countries. This study aims determine the prevalence of psychological stress, major depressive disorder, and suicidal ideation in Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) students of a government setup medical university in Pakistan. Methods: The data was gathered using a valid questionnaire containing 10 items Kessler psychological distress scale. The scale consists of the severity of the psychological distress from well, mild, moderate, and severe. Physical health questionnaire 2(PHQ2) was used for identifying the students with major depressive illness. Suicidal ideation was assessed using item no. 9 from PHQ9 questionnaire. Results: The overall prevalence of suicidal ideation, distress and major depression among 353 students of MBBS was 22.9%, 63.1%, 27.8% respectively. The students with major depression and moderate/severe distress are more probable to think about suicide. Moreover, Students who choose medicine under the family influence are more likely to have suicidal ideation. Besides this, we found that particularly females experience higher psychological distress as compared to males. Conclusion: In the overall study, it is identified that suicidal ideation is strongly correlated to depression and distress. However, controlling these factors at an early stage can prevent the suicidal thoughts, which inevitably can reduce the suicide attempts not only in medical students but could also be valuable for students of different fields.
},
year = {2024}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Suicidal Ideation, Psychological Distress and Depression in Medical Students of Pakistan: Surviving or Thriving AU - Anum Sarwar AU - Hira Waris AU - Hina Khan AU - Muhammad Hamza Umar AU - Muhammad Amir Ashraf AU - Rimsha Khan AU - Leeda Ahmadi AU - Muhammad Jasim All Mahmood AU - Vikash Kumar Karmani Y1 - 2024/10/10 PY - 2024 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20241203.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ajpn.20241203.12 T2 - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience JF - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience JO - American Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience SP - 59 EP - 66 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-426X UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajpn.20241203.12 AB - Background: In recent years, psychological stress has lead to increase in suicide cases readily among medical students of many countries. This study aims determine the prevalence of psychological stress, major depressive disorder, and suicidal ideation in Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) students of a government setup medical university in Pakistan. Methods: The data was gathered using a valid questionnaire containing 10 items Kessler psychological distress scale. The scale consists of the severity of the psychological distress from well, mild, moderate, and severe. Physical health questionnaire 2(PHQ2) was used for identifying the students with major depressive illness. Suicidal ideation was assessed using item no. 9 from PHQ9 questionnaire. Results: The overall prevalence of suicidal ideation, distress and major depression among 353 students of MBBS was 22.9%, 63.1%, 27.8% respectively. The students with major depression and moderate/severe distress are more probable to think about suicide. Moreover, Students who choose medicine under the family influence are more likely to have suicidal ideation. Besides this, we found that particularly females experience higher psychological distress as compared to males. Conclusion: In the overall study, it is identified that suicidal ideation is strongly correlated to depression and distress. However, controlling these factors at an early stage can prevent the suicidal thoughts, which inevitably can reduce the suicide attempts not only in medical students but could also be valuable for students of different fields. VL - 12 IS - 3 ER -
Department of Internal Medicine, Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Department of Internal Medicine, Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Department of Internal Medicine, Karachi Medical and Dental College, Karachi, Pakistan
Department of Internal Medicine, Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
Department of Internal Medicine, Dow International Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan
Department of Internal Medicine, Dow International Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan
Department of Internal Medicine, Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi, India
Department of Internal Medicine, CMH Kharian Medical College, Punjab, Pakistan
Department of Psychiatry, Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi, Pakistan
