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Suicidal Ideation, Psychological Distress and Depression in Medical Students of Pakistan: Surviving or Thriving

Received: 28 August 2024     Accepted: 23 September 2024     Published: 10 October 2024
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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.

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

Keywords

Mental Health of Medical Students, Major Depression, Psychological Distress, Suicidal Ideation

References
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Cite This Article
  • 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

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    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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    AMA Style

    Sarwar A, Waris H, Khan H, Umar MH, Ashraf MA, 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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  • @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}
    }
    

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  • 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
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