Depression, Stigma, and Suicidal Ideation in Medical Students

To characterize the perceptions of depressed and nondepressed medical students regarding stigma associated with depression. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional Web-based survey conducted in September-November 2009 among all students enrolled at the University of Michigan Medical School (N = 769). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of self-reported moderate to severe depression and suicidal ideation and the association of stigma perceptions with clinical and demographic variables.

Survey response rate was 65.7% (505 of 769). Prevalence of moderate to severe depression was 14.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 11.3%-17.3%). Women were more likely than men to have moderate to severe depression (18.0% vs 9.0%; 95% CI for difference, -14.8% to -3.1%; P = .001). Third- and fourth-year students were more likely than first- and second-year students to report suicidal ideation (7.9% vs 1.4%; 95% CI for difference, 2.7%-10.3%; P = .001). Students with moderate to severe depression, compared with no to minimal depression, more frequently agreed that "if I were depressed, fellow medical students would respect my opinions less" (56.0% vs 23.7%; 95% CI for difference, 17.3%-47.3%; P