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.

Aim Even though students attending vocational school are very vulnerable to the development of mental health problems, few studies identify the correlation between suicidal ideations and vocational education. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the prevalence and associated risk factors for suicidal ideations among vocational students in Germany. Methods We conducted a cross sectional survey with a total of 555 pupils. The pupils received a standardized questionnaire, assessing sociodemographic data, the use of protective factors, possible risk factors, traits for neuroticism and depressive symptoms. For our study, we excluded item 9 from the Beck depression index (BDI-II) to identify the prevalence of suicidal ideation. Results Our results show that the prevalence of suicidal ideation among students attending vocational school is 23.2%. A combination of feeling lonely, male sex, low importance of religion, little time for hobbies and BMI scores outside the norm show the highest risk for suicidal ideation and can be identified as significant predictors. Conclusion This cross-sectional study highlights the mental burden vocational students in Germany are confronted with and underlines the necessity of paying special attention to this group of young adults. Furthermore, it emphasizes the necessity of further studies on this topic, especially including larger student populations. The results should be used to decrease the significant loss of life caused by suicidal behavior in young adults.