title: Mental distress, alcohol use and help-seeking among medical and business students: a cross-sectional comparative study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Stress and distress among medical students are thoroughly studied and presumed to be particularly high, but comparative studies including other student groups are rare.
  
  
  METHODS
  A web-based survey was distributed to 500 medical students and 500 business students. We compared levels of study stress (HESI), burnout (OLBI), alcohol habits (AUDIT) and depression (MDI), and analysed their relationship with self-assessed mental health problems by logistic regression, with respect to gender.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Medical students' response rate was 81.6% and that of business students 69.4%. Business students scored higher on several study stress factors and on disengagement. Depression (OR 0.61, CI95 0.37;0.98) and harmful alcohol use (OR 0.55, CI95 0.37; 0.75) were both less common among medical students. However, harmful alcohol use was highly prevalent among male students in both groups (medical students 28.0%, business students 35.4%), and among female business students (25.0%). Mental health problems in need of treatment were equally common in both groups; 22.1% and 19.3%, respectively, and was associated with female sex (OR 2.01, CI95 1.32;3.04), exhaustion (OR 2.56, CI95 1.60;4.10), lower commitment to studies (OR 1.95, CI95 1.09;3.51) and financial concerns (OR 1.81 CI95 1.18;2.80)
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Medical students may not be more stressed than other high achieving student populations. The more cohesive structure of medical school and a higher awareness of a healthy lifestyle may be beneficial factors.
authors: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Centre of Psychiatric Research, St, Goran, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. marie.dahlin@ki.se
authors: Marie
authors: M
authors: Dahlin
authors: Caroline
authors: C
authors: Nilsson
authors: Emelie
authors: E
authors: Stotzer
authors: Bo
authors: B
authors: Runeson
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003132:Commerce / Q000193:education*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D004501:Education, Medical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013548:Sweden