Objective Previous studies have shown that an increased prevalence of mental illness can be found among medical and dental students. Among these, somatization symptoms are severely understudied. The present study examined the prevalence of somatization symptoms in a subpopulation of medical and dental students and aimed at finding associated risk and resilience factors. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a self-reporting questionnaire, including the SOMS-2, the Becks-Depression-Inventory-II (BDI-II), the NEO-Five-Factor-Inventory, and a questionnaire on socio-demographics for possible risk and resilience factors. A total of 271 medical and dental students of a mid-sized German university completed the questionnaire. Results The Somatization index yielded a mean of 9.12 symptoms for the total sample, which is 1.2 SD higher than the reported norm. A total of 50.7% of the medical students and 63.6% of the dental students transcend a critical somatization score. Significant positive associations for eight general risk factors, four university related stress factors, and a significant negative association for seven resilience factors were found. Conclusion Medical and even more dental students at the studied university showed a high burden of somatoform complaints. Also, factors were found that could be of etiological relevance and others that could be used to enhance resilience. Both could present an opportunity for the prevention of somatization disorders but prospective and multicenter studies with an aged-matched comparison group are needed to obtain a more accurate overview.

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Background: Elevated levels of depressive symptoms among medical students have been the subject of international and national research before, yet associated risk factors and protective factors are to be determined. This study aims to show the burdens of depression at different stages of academic medical education with a special emphasis on correlated risk factors and protective factors. Methods: A total number of n=1103 medical students of a middle-sized German university were sampled and surveyed regarding depressive symptoms and correlating factors. The assessment of potential depressive symptoms was based on the BDI-II. Correlating factors were surveyed through a self-designed questionnaire consisting of possible cofactors for depressive symptoms based on established scientific literature. Results: Survey response rate was 90.2% (1103/1223). The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 11% for mild, 5.6% for moderate and 2.4% for severe symptoms. The sample’s most prevalent risk factors were feeling unable to confide one’s own worries to someone else (88%); and experiencing a lack of time for partner, friends and family (77%) or hobbies (76%). Significant predictors for depressive symptoms were neuroticism above all, insufficient emotional support, eating irregular meals, use of medication or drugs to calm down, and mental overload. Factors associated with less depressive symptoms could be identified as: spending time with partner, friends, family, hobbies and exercise; and confiding worries to classmates. Conclusions: Every fifth medical student surveyed reported at least mild depressive symptoms. The majority of the surveyed medical students felt unable to confide their worries to someone else and lamented not having enough time for social interaction with peers, family and hobbies. Certain personality traits – such as neuroticism – and insufficient emotional support showed to play important roles in making medical students more prone to developing depressive symptoms. Based on this research, control of the surveyed cofactors associated with depressive symptoms and possible intervention programs targeted to these are proposed to be a key subject of further research.

Background: Suicide is the second leading cause of death in 15- to 29-year-olds in Germany. Studies have shown that compared to the general population students are more affected by suicidal ideation, as one major indicator of an attempted suicide. This effect is observed all over the world, interestingly, it is also true for physicians. Therefore, we investigated whether medical students are at an even higher risk than their peers to develop suicidal ideation. Methods: N=1,103 medical students at a German university completed a self-reporting survey investigating socio-demographic, potential risk, and protective factors. The Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI)-II Item 9 “Suicidality“ served as the dependent variable. Results: N=130 students (11.8% of the total sample) reported suicidal ideation within the last two weeks. Stepwise computed logistic regression models including all potential risk factors resulted in 40% explained variance. The most significant independent risk factors were the BDI-score, usage of tranquilizers, feeling lonely, insufficient time for hobbies and prior personal mental health issues, whereas focus enhancing drugs showed to be the only independent protective predictor. The BDI-II score correlated positively with the number of students suffering from suicidal ideation. Conclusion: The prevalence of suicidal ideation in our sample medical student population exceeds that of the general population greatly, confirming existing data and emphasizing the need to raise awareness and establish prevention programs.