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

Abstract

Medical students (MSs) are an important part of the workforce for delivery of tomorrow's healthcare. Their ever changing knowledge base and long periods of training may significantly affect their mental health and wellbeing over the years. Following a global call for participation, it was decided to include Italian medical schools based in the Universities of Ancona and Foggia between January and April 2019. Students were invited to participate in an online survey. A total of 360 completed responses were received and analysed. Of these, 8.6% of samples reported mental health issues whilst at medical school, ranking as follows: Anxiety Disorders > Major Depression > Eating Disorders > ADHD > Burnout Syndrome; 7.2% of them had been treated with psychotropic medications whereas 7.8% were self-medicating; 8.9% reported problems related to alcohol-drinking, and 22.8% admitted using illicit drugs (mostly cannabis and cocaine). The levels of burnout syndrome were quite low. It is important to ensure that the future workforce are looked after and, as the students are in the vulnerable age group, they should have access to early and prompt help-seeking and early interventions if needed.

Keywords: Italian medical students; burnout; mental healthcare; substance abuse; wellbeing.