The DOI matches its Crossref record; 53 of the 53 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Medical student depression, anxiety and distress outside North America: a systematic review
Open accessAbstract
CONTEXT: North American medical students are more depressed and anxious than their peers. In the UK, the regulator now has responsibility for medical students, which may potentially increase scrutiny of their health. This may either help or hinder medical students in accessing appropriate care. The prevalences of anxiety, depression and psychological distress in medical students outside North America are not clear. A better understanding of the prevalence of, risk factors for and results of psychological distress will guide the configuration of support services, increasingly available for doctors, for medical students too. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the prevalences of depression, anxiety and psychological distress in students in medical schools in the UK, Europe and elsewhere in the English-speaking world outside North America. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted using search terms encompassing psychological distress amongst medical students. OvidSP was used to search the following databases: Ovid MEDLINE (R) from 1948 to October 2013; PsycINFO from 1806 to October 2013, and EMBASE from 1980 to October 2013. Results were restricted to medical schools in Europe and the English-speaking world outside North America, and were evaluated against a set of inclusion criteria including the use of validated assessment tools. RESULTS: The searches identified 29 eligible studies. Prevalences of 7.7-65.5% for anxiety, 6.0-66.5% for depression and 12.2-96.7% for psychological distress were recorded. The wide range of results reflects the variable quality of the studies. Almost all were cross-sectional and many did not mention ethical approval. Better-quality studies found lower prevalences. There was little information on the causes or consequences of depression or anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalences of psychological distress amongst medical students outside North America are substantial. Future research should move on from simple cross-sectional studies to better-quality longitudinal work which can identify both predictors for and outcomes of poor mental health in medical students.
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“Recent studies have revealed a high prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress symptoms among university students, highlighting an urgent need for preventative measures at low cost to better support often overwhelmed support services.”
From Novel ACT-based eHealth psychoeducational intervention for students with mental distress: A study protocol for a mixed-methodology pilot trial (2019) · cites this paper as [7]
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The Global Prevalence of Anxiety Among Medical Students: A Meta-Analysis
Tian-Ci Quek, T., Wai-San Tam, W., X. Tran, B., Zhang, M., Zhang, Z., Su-Hui Ho, C., & Chun-Man Ho, R. (2019) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph16152735 · Cited by 990
“[12] found the prevalence of anxiety among medical students outside of North America to range between 7.”
BackgroundPrevalence of depression amongst medical students: A meta-analysis
Puthran, R., Zhang, M. W. B., Tam, W. W., & Ho, R. C. (2016) · Medical Education · doi:10.1111/medu.12962 · Cited by 855
Mental health problems among medical students in Brazil: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Pacheco, J. P. G., Giacomin, H. T. A., Tam, W., Ribeiro, T. B., Arab, C., Bezerra, Í. M. P., & Pinasco, G. C. (2017) · Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1590/1516-4446-2017-2223 · Cited by 581
Prevalence of psychological stress, depression and anxiety among medical students in Egypt
Fawzy, M., & Hamed, S. A. (2017) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2017.05.027 · Cited by 455
Factors associated to depression and anxiety in medical students: a multicenter study
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Metadata
- Authors
- Hope, V., & Henderson, M.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Henderson, Max
- Venue
- Medical Education
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2014-09-09
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 963-979
- ISSN
- 0308-0110 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-2923
- OpenAlex
- W2077695865
- Cited by
- 477
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 63 · 2023: 50 · 2022: 61 · 2021: 88 · 2020: 53 · 2019: 44 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 2.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- kclpure.kcl.ac.uk
- Locations
- Medical Education (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Education › Innovations in Medical Education
- Keywords
- medical students, depression, anxiety, psychological distress, prevalence, mental health, risk factors, support services, Europe, English-speaking countries
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Anxiety Disorders, Cross-Sectional Studies, Depressive Disorder, Europe, United Kingdom, Humans, Male, North America, Risk Factors, Sex Factors, Stress, Psychological, Students, Medical, Prevalence, Young Adult
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