• MoutinhoIvana Lúcia DamásioILNúcleo de Apoio às Práticas Educativas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil., Natalia de Castro Pecci Maddalena, Ronald Kleinsorge Roland, Alessandra Lamas Granero Lucchetti, Sandra Helena Cerrato Tibiriçá, EzequielOscarina da SilvaODNúcleo de Apoio às Práticas Educativas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil., and Giancarlo Lucchetti.
• Núcleo de Apoio às Práticas Educativas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil.
• Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). 2017 Jan 1; 63 (1): 21-28.

ObjectiveTo compare the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and stress in medical students from all semesters of a Brazilian medical school and assess their respective associated factors.MethodA cross-sectional study of students from the twelve semesters of a Brazilian medical school was carried out. Students filled out a questionnaire including sociodemographics, religiosity (DUREL - Duke Religion Index), and mental health (DASS-21 - Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale). The students were compared for mental health variables (Chi-squared/ANOVA). Linear regression models were employed to assess factors associated with DASS-21 scores.Results761 (75.4%) students answered the questionnaire; 34.6% reported depressive symptomatology, 37.2% showed anxiety symptoms, and 47.1% stress symptoms. Significant differences were found for: anxiety - ANOVA: [F = 2.536, p=0.004] between first and tenth (p=0.048) and first and eleventh (p=0.025) semesters; depression - ANOVA: [F = 2.410, p=0.006] between first and second semesters (p=0.045); and stress - ANOVA: [F = 2.968, p=0.001] between seventh and twelfth (p=0.044), tenth and twelfth (p=0.011), and eleventh and twelfth (p=0.001) semesters. The following factors were associated with (a) stress: female gender, anxiety, and depression; (b) depression: female gender, intrinsic religiosity, anxiety, and stress; and (c) anxiety: course semester, depression, and stress.ConclusionOur findings revealed high levels of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in medical students, with marked differences among course semesters. Gender and religiosity appeared to influence the mental health of the medical students.

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