A study published in the Dec. 6 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that many medical students may suffer from depression or depressive symptoms. The researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of data from 167 cross-sectional studies (116,628 participants) and 16 longitudinal studies (5,728 participants) from 43 countries.

They found that the overall pooled crude prevalence of depression or depressive symptoms was 27.2 percent, and suicidal ideation was 11.1 percent. In addition, based on nine longitudinal studies covering 2,432 participants that assessed depressive symptoms before and during medical school, the researchers found that the median absolute increase in symptoms was 13.5 percent. Learn more...