title: The prevalence and impact of depression among medical students: a nationwide cross-sectional study in South Korea.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This nationwide cross-sectional study assessed the prevalence, possible risk factors, and impact of depression among Korean medical students.
  
  
  METHODS
  Of all medical students (14,095) registered in 41 medical schools in 2006 in South Korea, 7,357 (52.2%) completed the survey. Depression was measured using the patient-rated version of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI-PR). Data on academic functioning, and sociodemographic characteristics were also obtained.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Current, one-year, and lifetime prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) were 2.9%, 6.5%, and 10.3%, respectively. Possible risk factors for one-year MDD were female gender, lower class years, admission track with exemption from entrance exam, living alone at a lodging house or a rented room, and financial difficulty (P < .05). The grade point averages (GPAs) of students with MDD were significantly lower than those of nondepressed students for both semesters (t = 3.8, P < .001; t = 4.8, P < .001). The odds ratio of students with MDD of receiving a GPA below 2.0 was 1.8 (CI 1.4-2.4) as compared with nondepressed students.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrated that Korean medical students experience depression frequently. It also highlighted the possible risk factors of MDD among medical students and pervasive association of depression with poor functioning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Myoung-Sun
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Roh
authors.forename: Hong Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.forename: Hana
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sung Koo
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Bong-Jin
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Hahm
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult