ABSTRACT
Common mental disorders (CMDs) are increasingly frequent in the world’s population and are less severe than other groups of mental disorders. They are associated with loss of quality of life, relationship problems and psychological suffering. The studies that investigate the prevalence of CMDs are aimed at the occupational, academic and health levels. Brazilian studies in the area of Mental Health carried out with medical students indicate that 30% and 44% of this group has some type of common mental disorder or symptom. The aim of the present study is to detect CMDs among medical students from Universidade Regional de Blumenau/SC. This is a cross-sectional study carried out in August 2017 with 340 students from the 1st to the 12th semester of School. The Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) was used for CMD screening. The prevalence of CMD was 50.9%. Classic CMDs were associated (p <0.05) with the mean daily workload of more than 12 hours, less than one hour of leisure per day, having a previous medical history of psychiatric illness, using antidepressants, never having attended or been discharged from psychotherapy and the use of alcohol and other substances. A higher rate of suspected CMD cases was found in the present sample than in other studies with students from other Brazilian Medical Schools. The presence of CMD during the internship cycle was similar to that observed in the early cycles of medical school, despite the presence of protective factors, as demonstrated in the literature. The university must direct its attention to health promotion activities, together with health services and the family, creating a psychological support network. For this purpose, it has subsidies to establish prevention and care actions directed at the mental health of medical students.
Mental Disorders; Prevalence; Risk Factors