Purpose:

The Covid-19 pandemic is a public health emergency with both physical and mental health risks. Medical students have baseline elevated rates of anxiety, depression and burnout. As such, they may be especially susceptible to the psychological stresses of Covid-19. The current study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of anxiety and depression among United States medical students during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Methods:

A cross-sectional, survey-based study collected demographic data as well as the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to assess anxiety and depression symptoms, respectively. The survey was administered from April 13, 2020 to April 28, 2020 amidst the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Results:

A total of 1,428 students from 40 US medical schools completed the survey. From those surveyed, 30.6% and 24.3% of respondents screened positive for anxiety and depression, respectively. Median GAD-7 scores were higher among females (7.0 vs 5.0, P < .00001), pre-clinical students (7.0 vs 6.0, P < .00004), and those with a friend or relative diagnosed with Covid-19 (7.0 vs 6.0, P=.001). Median PHQ-9 scores were higher among females (6.0 vs 4.0, P < .00001) and pre-clinical students (6.0 vs 4.0, P < .00001).

Conclusion:

When compared to previous medical student studies, these results are 61% higher for anxiety and 70% higher for depression during the Covid-19 era. The current study suggests that there should be a heightened awareness of and sensitivity to student’s mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic with certain cohorts at greater potential risk.

中文翻译：

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Covid-19大流行期间医学生焦虑和抑郁的患病率：一项横断面研究

目的：

Covid-19 大流行是一种具有身心健康风险的突发公共卫生事件。医学生的基线焦虑、抑郁和倦怠率升高。因此，他们可能特别容易受到 Covid-19 的心理压力的影响。目前的研究旨在评估 Covid-19 大流行期间美国医学生中焦虑和抑郁的患病率。

方法：

一项基于调查的横断面研究收集了人口统计数据以及 7 项广泛性焦虑症 (GAD-7) 和 9 项患者健康问卷 (PHQ-9)，以分别评估焦虑和抑郁症状。该调查于 2020 年 4 月 13 日至 2020 年 4 月 28 日在 Covid-19 大流行高峰期间进行。

结果：

共有来自 40 所美国医学院的 1,428 名学生完成了调查。在接受调查的人中，分别有 30.6% 和 24.3% 的受访者对焦虑和抑郁进行了阳性筛查。女性（7.0 对 5.0，P < .00001）、 临床前学生（7.0 对 6.0，P  < .00004）以及有朋友或亲戚被诊断为 Covid-19 的人（7.0 对6.0，P =.001）。女性（6.0 vs 4.0， P  < .00001）和临床前学生（6.0 vs 4.0，P < .00001）的中位 PHQ-9 得分较高 。

结论：

与以前的医学生研究相比，在 Covid-19 时代，这些结果在焦虑方面高出 61%，在抑郁方面高出 70%。目前的研究表明，在 Covid-19 大流行期间，应该提高对学生心理健康的认识和敏感性，因为某些群体的潜在风险更大。