INTRODUCTION: The objective of the present study was to assess the prevalence of depressive symptoms among medical students of Universidade Federal de Goiás, Brazil, comparing them to the general population and investigating the possibility of a certain period throughout the course being a risk factor. METHOD: A cross-sectional descriptive study of a representative sample of students regularly enrolled at the Medical School of Universidade Federal de Goiás was performed. A total of 287 students from the first to sixth year were selected using simple random drawing. The Beck Depression Inventory and an identification questionnaire were used for evaluation. RESULTS: In the interviewed population, 26.8% had depressive symptoms according to the Beck Depression Inventory scores established for this study. The prevalence of moderate and severe depressive symptoms among the interviewees was 6.9%, while 19.9% had mild symptoms. As to gender, 33.5% of the women and 19% of the men had depressive symptoms. There was higher prevalence between third- and fourth-year students. Sadness, anhedonia, low self-esteem, perfectionism, irritability, lack of interest for people, reduced work capacity, and excessive tiredness were the most punctuated items of the Beck Depression Inventory. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of depressive symptoms found in this study is higher than the average found in the general population, and there is an indication that the medical school can be one of the predisposing factors for these symptoms.
Medical students; depression; prevalence; prevention
