Suchergebnisse

Background: Eating disorders is a particular problem for university students. However, little is known about this problem among medical students who often have high stress. Aims: The aims of this study were to describe the changes in eating attitudes and eating disorders from 2006 to 2008 in a medical student sample, and to compare the gender differences of eating attitudes and body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) with this sample. Methods: This study was conducted in Changsha city, Mainland China. Self-reported questionnaires, including the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) and Eating Disorders Assessment Questionnaire (CETCA), were employed to examine the changes in eating attitudes and eating disorders from 2006 to 2008 in a medical student sample (N = 500). Results: Self-reported findings suggest that tentative eating disorders prevalence was 0.90% (anorexia nervosa (AN): 0; bulimia nervosa (BN): 4 females) in 2006 and 1.44% (AN: 1 male; BN: 1 male and 3 females) in 2008 of the full sample. The present data showed that 2.26% (2 males and 9 females) in 2006 and 2.47% (4 males and 6 females) in 2008 of all students obtained scores greater than 20 on the EAT-26 indicative of distorted eating attitudes and behaviour. Male students kept lower distorted eating attitudes and behaviours than female students, while female students kept a lower BMI than male students in both 2006 and 2008. However, there were no statistically significant changes in eating attitudes, distorted eating attitudes and CETCA in either male or female students from 2006 to 2008. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that there were no statistically significant changes from 2006 to 2008 in eating attitudes, distorted eating attitudes and CETCA. However, females showed significantly higher eating disorders and distorted eating attitudes compared to males in both 2006 and 2008. This study is furthering our understanding of eating disorders in a Chinese cultural context.

Background: Burnout, depression, and anxiety are highly prevalent among medical students, which often leads to their attrition. We aim to assess the inter-relationships of depression, burnout, and anxiety symptoms with dropout intention among Chinese medical undergraduates using the network analysis. Method: A total of 3,648 Chinese medical undergraduates were recruited through snowball sampling. Learning burnout scale, 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and General Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) was used to assess burnout, depression, and anxiety symptoms, respectively. We used the EBICglasso model to estimate the network. We compared the network based on gender, study phase, and clinical experience. Results: After removing repeated submissions and incorrect responses to the trap question, 3,536 participants were included in the final analysis. The prevalence of burnout, depression, anxiety, and dropout intention was 38, 62.7, 38.4, and 39% respectively, which is consistent with previous findings. Network analysis suggested that anxiety and depression items clustered together and displayed several strong bridge connections, while burnout items formed another cluster. All the strongest edges were within the respective distress. Cynicism symptoms 'I am fed up with study' and 'I want to study but I feel that studying is boring' were the most central symptoms, while 'fatigue' and 'worthless' were the bridge symptoms within the burnout-depression-anxiety network. Other central symptoms included 'worthless', 'I can handle my courses', 'nervous', and 'uncontrollable worry'. Cynicism symptoms 'I am interested in my major' and 'I feel that the knowledge I have learned is useless' were mostly related to dropout intention. Gender, study phase, and clinical experience didn't affect the global strength of the burnout-depression-anxiety network. Conclusion: Our results indicated the predominance of cynicism symptoms within the burnout-depression-anxiety network and its substantial impact on dropout intention, suggesting that early detection and intervention for cynicism symptoms in Chinese medical students are in urgent need. Other central and bridge symptoms might also serve as potential targets for the prevention and treatment of burnout, depression, and anxiety among medical students. For example, studies suggest cognitive-behavioral therapy could quickly improve 'worthless', which might be beneficial in treating burnout, depression, and anxiety in medical students.

Background: There have been few studies on the stigma associated with mental disorders among non-mental health professionals in general hospitals in China. This study seeks to explore mental health-related stigma and the desire for social distance among non-mental health professionals in general hospitals in Hunan Province in China. Methods: The study was carried out with 1123 non-mental health professionals in six general hospitals in Hunan Province by using a questionnaire with a case vignette describing either schizophrenia, depression, or generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Questions were asked about the attitudes of participants and other people towards individuals with mental disorders and the willingness to come into contact with them. Results: The people described in the vignette were considered dangerous by 84.4% of participants for schizophrenia, 72.0% of participants for depression, and 63.1% of participants for GAD. Besides being dangerous, people with schizophrenia were perceived as unpredictable and as the least suitable for voting for as a politician or employing. Around 50% of participants believed the problems described in the vignette were due to personal weakness. Over 70% of the non-mental health professionals were not willing to have the people described in the vignette marry into their family. The participants had gained their mental health-related knowledge mainly through the media, mostly from newspapers. Conclusions: The current study found a significant stigma towards individuals with mental disorders and a desire for social distance from such people among non-mental health professionals in general hospitals in Hunan Province. Anti-stigma interventions should focus on addressing non-mental health professionals' beliefs on dangerousness and unpredictability.

Abstract
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posed a great impact on people's mental health, especially for undergraduate students. This study aimed to compare the mental health conditions and academic burnout between medical and non-medical undergraduates in China when the COVID-19 pandemic is mitigating. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 4,972 undergraduates between October 2020 and April 2021, when the pandemic was basically under control. The survey included basic demographics information and standardized scales to evaluate depression, anxiety, perceived stress, daytime sleepiness, alcohol abuse/dependence, quality of life, fatigue, and academic burnout. Compared with medical undergraduates, non-medical undergraduates had higher rates of moderate to severe depression symptoms (29.1% vs. 17.9%, P < 0.001), moderate to severe anxiety symptoms (19.7% vs. 8.9%, P < 0.001), alcohol abuse/dependence (16.3% vs.10.3%, P < 0.001), excessive daytime sleepiness (47.4% vs. 43.4%, P = 0.018), high perceived stress (34.7% vs. 22.2%, P < 0.001), high level of fatigue (51.8% vs. 42.2%, P < 0.001), low QOL (35.8% vs. 21.4%, P < 0.001), and higher academic burnout score (59.4 vs. 57.5, P < 0.001). Being non-medical undergraduates, depression, alcohol abuse/dependence, excessive daytime sleepiness, and high perceived stress were positively associated with academic burnout, while high QOL was negatively associated with the burnout (all P < 0.001). Excessive daytime sleepiness was the strongest predictor for academic burnout.