Mental health and wellbeing among Iranian medical students: a descriptive study

Abstract

Background: The psychological wellbeing and stresses on medical students are currently under a global spotlight. Under a wider initiative supported by the British Medical Association (BMA), international surveys have been conducted to understand and begin to tackle these issues. Method: This study aimed at describing the mental wellbeing and levels of burnout of Iranian medical students. A total of 179 medical students from 19 different cities participated voluntarily in the survey by answering an online questionnaire between April and August 2020. We detected a trend toward higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders (namely depressive disorders) and substance misuse when compared to previous national studies. Results: About 6% of students screened positive for alcohol problems with the CAGE questionnaire. About 77% of medical students screened positive for mental health problems with the GHQ12 questionnaire. Very high rates of burnout were also reported. These findings emphasize the urgent need to define methods to screen at risk medical students and implement local and national initiatives to curtain their potential detrimental effects.