The state of mental health among male and female medical students: A preliminary study.

Abstract

The educational process brings a considerable amount of stress to medical students; this can influence mental health status and contribute to furthering professional burnout. This study assessed mental health status with the intention of identifying different patterns in female and male medical students. This applied cross-sectional study was conducted using two questionnaires. That is, it explored demographic data and mental health status through the 30-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30) of 816 medical students who attended Nara Medical University, Japan, between 2011 and 2019. The valid response rate was 94.1 %. During the study period, female medical students assessed their physical health status as being worse compared to male medical students overall. For medical students, especially female ones, it is necessary to establish a system for early awareness and management of their mental health, and to consider appropriate support methods.