Depression and Perceived Social Support in Asian American Medical Students. 2022

David Yang, and Evrim Oral, and Jasmine Kim, and Timothy Craft, and Michelle B Moore
Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.

Recent data reported that 21.5% of medical students in the United States of America (USA) are Asian American (AA). With the growing focus on developing medical school wellness programs, authors conducted a systematic, nationwide survey to assess prevalence of depression among AA medical students with a focus on disaggregating the AA population. A survey tool comprised of PHQ-9 and depression history, and questions on social support were emailed to members of the Asian Pacific American Medical Students Association enrolled in a USA medical school during the 2016-2017 academic year. Participants were grouped as East Asian American (EAA), Southeast Asian American (SEAA), and South Asian American (SAA). We evaluated associations between depression and regional ethnicity, depression history, and perceived support. A total of 457 AA medical students were surveyed. SAA medical students were more likely to endorse symptoms of depression than EAA students. Students who identified as female were more likely to endorse symptoms of depression than their male-identifying counterparts. There was no significant relationship between students' perception of the support they received and their depressive symptoms. Medical school administration should be aware of the unique needs of the heterogeneous population that comprises AA medical students. SAA students and those who identify as female are more likely to endorse symptoms of depression than their AA counterparts. Further research must be done to evaluate the factors that influence the mental health needs of AA medical students.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D003863 Depression Depressive states usually of moderate intensity in contrast with MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER present in neurotic and psychotic disorders. Depressive Symptoms,Emotional Depression,Depression, Emotional,Depressive Symptom,Symptom, Depressive
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001213 Asian A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/1997/10/30/97-28653/revisions-to-the-standards-for-the-classification-of-federal-data-on-race-and-ethnicity). In the United States it is used for classification of federal government data on race and ethnicity. Race and ethnicity terms are self-identified social construct and may include terms outdated and offensive in MeSH to assist users who are interested in retrieving comprehensive search results for studies such as in longitudinal studies. Asian Americans,Chinese Americans,Japanese Americans,Korean Americans,Asian Indian Americans,Cambodian Americans,Filipino Americans,Hmong Americans,Vietnamese Americans,American, Cambodian,American, Korean,American, Vietnamese,Americans, Asian,Americans, Cambodian,Americans, Chinese,Americans, Filipino,Americans, Hmong,Americans, Japanese,Americans, Korean,Americans, Vietnamese,Asian American,Asian Indian American,Asians,Cambodian American,Chinese American,Filipino American,Hmong American,Indian American, Asian,Japanese American,Korean American,Vietnamese American
D012577 Schools, Medical Educational institutions for individuals specializing in the field of medicine. Medical Schools,Medical School,School, Medical
D012944 Social Support Support systems that provide assistance and encouragement to individuals with physical or emotional disabilities in order that they may better cope. Informal social support is usually provided by friends, relatives, or peers, while formal assistance such as COMMUNITY SUPPORT is provided by churches, groups, etc. Perceived Social Support,Social Care,Online Social Support,Care, Social,Online Social Supports,Perceived Social Supports,Social Support, Online,Social Support, Perceived,Social Supports, Online,Social Supports, Perceived,Support, Online Social,Support, Perceived Social,Support, Social,Supports, Perceived Social
D013337 Students, Medical Individuals enrolled in a school of medicine or a formal educational program in medicine. Medical Student,Medical Students,Student, Medical
D014481 United States A country in NORTH AMERICA between CANADA and MEXICO.

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