Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

A round-up of the ONWARDS phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the novel weekly insulin icodec in people with diabetes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 4/2015

01-04-2015 | Original Paper

Demographic risk factors for suicide and depression among Serbian medical school students

Authors: Vladimir Miletic, Jasminka Adzic Lukovic, Nevena Ratkovic, Danijela Aleksic, Anita Grgurevic

Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology | Issue 4/2015

Login to get access

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to identify demographic risk factors associated with depression and suicidality among medical school students in Serbia, as well as to determine the prevalence of symptoms of depression and suicide attempts in the student population.

Method

This was a cross-sectional study conducted on the sample of 1,296 students recruited from the School of Medicine, University of Belgrade. Following questionnaires were assigned to participating subjects: PHQ-9, Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire, and Social-demographic survey.

Results

PHQ-9 scores in our sample ranged from 0 to 27, averaging at 6.21 (SD = 4.96). Symptoms of depression were associated with grade point average, age, relationship status, and gender. Reported history of suicide attempts was associated with PHQ-9 scores, grade point average, relationship status, gender, history of mental illness and drug use.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that medical school students in Serbia may be considered an “at-risk” population. Preventative programs in the future should target symptoms of depression and should provide students with adequate mechanisms to cope successfully with school-related pressure. Alternative stress management strategies may also be useful, especially for younger students who seem to be at greater risk for depression and suicide.
Literature
1.
Sadock BJ, Sadock VA (2007) Kaplan and Sadock’s synopsis of psychiatry: behavioral sciences/clinical psychiatry, 10th edn. Lippincot, Philadelphia
2.
Wasserman D, Cheng Q, Jiang GX (2005) Global suicide rates among young people aged 15-19. World Psychiatry 4(2):112–114
3.
4.
University of Manchester Centre for Mental Health and Risk. “The national confidential inquiry into suicide and homicide by people with mental illness”. Retrieved 25 July 2012
5.
Chang B, Gitlin D, Patel R (2011) “The depressed patient and suicidal patient in the emergency department: evidence-based management and treatment strategies. Emerg Med Pract 13(9):1–23 (quiz 23–4. PMID 22164363)PubMed
6.
Bertolote JM, Fleischmann A, De Leo D, Wasserman D (2004) Psychiatric diagnoses and suicide: revisiting the evidence. Crisis 25(4):147–155 PMID 15580849PubMed
7.
Neeleman J, Lewis G (1999) Suicide, religion, and socioeconomic conditions. An ecological study in 26 countries, 1990. J Epidemiol Commun Health 53(4):204–210CrossRef
8.
Stack S, Lester D (1991) The effect of religion on suicide ideation. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 26(4):168–170PubMed
9.
Dervic K, Oquendo MA, Grunebaum MF, Ellis S, Burke AK, Mann JJ (2004) Religious affiliation and suicide attempt. Am J Psychiatry 161(12):2303–2308CrossRefPubMed
10.
Rasic DT, Belik SL, Elias B, Katz LY, Enns M, Sareen J (2009) Spirituality, religion and suicidal behavior in a nationally representative sample. J Affect Disord 114(1–3):32–40CrossRefPubMed
11.
12.
Lukic B, Perunicic I, Mandic-Maravic V, Lecic-Tosevski D (2009) Odnos agresivnosti i suicidalnosti kod pacijenata sa afektivnim poremecajima. Psihijatrija danas 41(1–2):17–27
13.
Nordentoft M (2007) Prevention of suicide and attempted suicide in Denmark. Epidemiological studies of suicide and intervention studies in selected risk groups. Dan Med Bull 54(4):306–369PubMed
14.
Evans E, Hawton K, Rodham K (2004) Factors associated with suicidal phenomena in adolescents: a systematic review of population-based studies. Clin Psychol Rev 24(8):957–979CrossRefPubMed
15.
16.
17.
Slap G, Goodman E, Huang B (2001) Adoption as a risk factor for attempted suicide during adolescence. Pediatrics 108(2):E30CrossRefPubMed
18.
Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JB (1999) Validation and utility of a self-report version of PRIME-MD: the PHQ primary care study. Primary care evaluation of mental disorders. Patient Health Questionnaire. J Am Med Assoc 282(18):1737–1744. doi:10.​1001/​jama.​282.​18.​1737 (PMID 10568646)CrossRef
19.
MacInnes D (2003) Evaluating an assessment scale of irrational beliefs for people with mental health problems. Nurse Res 10(4):53–67CrossRefPubMed
20.
21.
22.
Buchanan JL Prevention of depression in the college student population: a review of the literature
23.
Kragovic J, Ignjatovic-Ristic D, Djokovic D, et al (2011) Samoprocena depresivnosti i suicidalnosti kod studenata medicine. 33 (4): 47-54
24.
Hysenbegasi A, Hass SL, Rowland CR (2005) The impact of depression on the academic productivity of university students. J Mental Health Policy Econ 8(3):145–151
25.
Kessler RC, Borges G, Walters EE (1999) Prevalence of and risk factors for lifetime suicide attempts in the National Comorbidity Survey. Arch Gen Psychiatry 56(7):617–626CrossRefPubMed
26.
Marotic V, Miletic V, Pejovic-Milovancevic M (2009) Stavovi adolescenata o problemima mentalnog zdravlja. Psihijatrija danas 41(1–2):55–64
Metadata
Title
Demographic risk factors for suicide and depression among Serbian medical school students
Authors
Vladimir Miletic
Jasminka Adzic Lukovic
Nevena Ratkovic
Danijela Aleksic
Anita Grgurevic
Publication date
01-04-2015
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology / Issue 4/2015
Print ISSN: 0933-7954
Electronic ISSN: 1433-9285
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-014-0950-9

Other articles of this Issue 4/2015

Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 4/2015 Go to the issue

Editorial

Post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic disease: open questions and future directions

Original Paper

Loss of social resources predicts incident posttraumatic stress disorder during ongoing political violence within the Palestinian Authority

Editorial

Categories, continua and the growth of psychiatric knowledge

Invited Reviews

Factors of psychological distress: clinical value, measurement substance, and methodological artefacts

Original Paper

Inconsistent retrospective self-reports of childhood sexual abuse and their correlates in the general population

Original Paper

A focus group study of the impact of trauma exposure in the 9/11 terrorist attacks