OBJECTIVES: Medical students experience worse psychological well-being than the general population. Social determinants of health (SDOH) relate to conditions in which people live, work, and age and significantly influence mental health. This study examines the association between depressive symptoms and SDOH in medical students from four countries: Czechia, Iran, Kenya, and Venezuela. METHODS: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted in the spring of 2022. The questionnaire focused on depressive symptoms (using a validated psychiatric scale DASS-21 to assess mental health) and various SDOHs. RESULTS: A total of 2,033 medical students participated in the survey, with a median age of 23.0 years; 64.8% were females; 60.8% of respondents had some degree of depressive symptoms (mild-to-moderate 32.5%, severe-to-extremely severe 28.3%). Several SDOHs, such as low engagement in social life, low personal funds, and low social class, were strongly associated with severe-to-extremely severe depressive symptoms (p < 0.001), and the associations differed among countries. The prevalence of severe-to-extremely severe depressive symptoms varied significantly across the four countries, with Iran having the highest prevalence (OR = 2.1 compared to Czechia), followed by Czechia (OR = 1, reference value), Kenya (OR = 0.9), and Venezuela (OR = 0.6). CONCLUSION: The study demonstrates the high prevalence of depressive symptoms among medical students from four global regions and the significant association with specific SDOH. Notably, the variation in prevalence across countries and differential relationships with SDOH underscore the importance of considering transcultural factors in research and management to improve mental health among medical students.
- MeSH
- Depression * epidemiology MeSH
- Adult MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Young Adult MeSH
- Prevalence MeSH
- Cross-Sectional Studies MeSH
- Surveys and Questionnaires MeSH
- Social Determinants of Health * statistics & numerical data MeSH
- Students, Medical * psychology statistics & numerical data MeSH
- Check Tag
- Adult MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Young Adult MeSH
- Male MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Geographicals
- Czech Republic MeSH
- Iran MeSH
- Kenya MeSH
- Venezuela MeSH
BACKGROUND: Increasing educational attainment (EA) could decrease the occurrence of depression. We investigated the relationship between EA and depressive symptoms in older individuals across four European regions. METHODS: We studied 108,315 Europeans (54% women, median age 63 years old) from the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe assessing EA (seven educational levels based on International Standard Classification of Education [ISCED] classification) and depressive symptoms (≥4 points on EURO-D scale). Logistic regression estimated the association between EA and depressive symptoms, adjusting for sociodemographic and health-related factors, testing for sex/age/region and education interactions. RESULTS: Higher EA was associated with lower odds of depressive symptoms, independent of sociodemographic and health-related factors. A threshold of the lowest odds of depressive symptoms was detected at the first stage of tertiary education (OR 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.55-0.65; p < 0.001; relative to no education). Central and Eastern Europe showed the strongest association (OR for high vs. low education 0.37; 95% CI 0.33-0.40; p < 0.001) and Scandinavia the weakest (OR for high vs. low education 0.69; 95% CI 0.60-0.80; p < 0.001). The association was strongest among younger individuals. There was a sex and education interaction only within Central and Eastern Europe. CONCLUSIONS: Level of EA is reflected in later-life depressive symptoms, suggesting that supporting individuals in achieving EA, and considering those with lower EA at increased risk for depression, could lead to decreased burden of depression across the life course. Further educational support in Central and Eastern Europe may decrease the higher burden of depressive symptoms in women.
- MeSH
- Depression epidemiology MeSH
- Retirement MeSH
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Logistic Models MeSH
- Aged MeSH
- Social Determinants of Health statistics & numerical data MeSH
- Aging MeSH
- Educational Status * MeSH
- Check Tag
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Male MeSH
- Aged MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH
- Geographicals
- Europe MeSH
- Europe, Eastern MeSH
Příspěvek věnuje pozornost problematice sociálního zdraví a sociálně zdravé osobnosti. Jedním z významných činitelů rozvoje osobnosti jedince je škola, která musí v rámci edukačního procesu rozvíjet i sociální kompetence žáka. To souvisí i s tvorbou pozitivního sociálního klimatu ve školní třídě i celé škole. Efektivita celého procesu je podmíněna vhodným propojením teorie a praxe. Zejména sociálně psychologický výcvik umožňuje prostřednictvím rozmanitých technik rozvíjet dobré interpersonální vztahy ve skupině a přispívá významnou měrou k rozvoji osobnostních a sociálních kompetencí jedince.
The entry pays to problems of social health and socially healthy personality. One of important factors of personality development is the school, which has to bloom also social skills of the pupil according to the educating process. This is connected with positive social climate in the class and school, too. The effectivity of the process is conditional on good connection between theory and praxis. Especially social-psychological trainings enable to develope good interpersonal relations in the group and help to develope social skills of the persona.
- Keywords
- Sociálně psyschologický výcvik, Sociální zdraví, Vzdělávání učitelů,
- MeSH
- Behavioral Research MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Surveys and Questionnaires MeSH
- Schools organization & administration manpower trends MeSH
- Social Determinants of Health statistics & numerical data trends MeSH
- Statistics as Topic MeSH
- World Health Organization MeSH
- Education methods organization & administration manpower MeSH
- Teaching methods organization & administration manpower MeSH
- Health Status MeSH
- Health Education * methods organization & administration manpower MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
