Depressive symptoms: exploratory study in young vestibulands for the medicine course inside the Amazon

Abstract

Objective: Evaluate the presence of depressive symptoms in students taking the entrance exam for medical school in Santarém-Pará. Methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried, with quantitative analyses and the application of questionnaires to 51 students from university entrance exam courses in the city. Two questionnaires where applied, one for socioeconomic evaluation and another to identify de presence of depressive symptoms and to rate their grade, using Beck´s Depression Inventory. Results: The prevalent profile found in this research consisted of single, brown, women, between 18-20 years old, with an average monthly family income of 5 or more minimum wages. As for the prevalence of depressive symptoms, 49.02% of the participants had moderate to severe depressive symptoms, which were more frequent in young, single women who had been taking the university entrance exam for more than 2 years. 11 participants had previously reported comorbidities, the most prevalent in the research being Generalized Anxiety Disorder, followed by atopy. Conclusion: It is expected that the results presented will stimulate further research within the studied theme, reducing the stigma surrounding psychiatric illnesses, as well as increasing the investment of educational institutions in maintaining the mental health of their students.