Depressive symptoms and academic performance in medical students

The prevalence of depression among medical students is significantly higher than that from the general population or other undergraduate students and can result in dropping out, in such a way that the growing number of students who have dropped due to their poor performance or their vocational indecision could be related to the presence of this condition. Objective and methodology To identify if the depressive symptoms presented by medical students from first year were associated with poor performance. The study included 774 medical students in their first year (66.4% female, 33.6% male, average age: 18.6 +/- 1.7 years). The Beck Inventory for Depression and the SCL90 (Symptom-CheckList) depression sub-scale were used. Statistical analysis. Descriptive analyzes were performed, chi(2), Student t test and logistic regression. Results The percentage of students with depressive symptoms was 23% (male 12.3%, women 28.4%), with a significant difference in depressive symptoms between women and men medical students (OR=2.8). 68% of students who had depressive symptoms failed a subject, which was a risk of disapproval of 2.4 times compared with those without such symptomatology. The variables sex and depressive symptomatology were found to be factors related to poor academic performance, with an increased risk for students with symptoms (OR=2.2, 95% CI=1.56-3.20). Conclusions Depressive symptomatology is an important risk factor for failing a subject or having a poor academic performance.