Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42405022›Full record

ArticleJournal of medical education and curricular development

Prevalence and Correlates of Anxiety and Depression Symptoms Among Medical Students: The Role of Student Debt Burden.

Foroozan Afsharchi, Joshua F Edwards, Kailash S Ram, Jingru Huang, Valicia Hale, Ismail El Moudden

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of medical education and curricular development. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Foroozan AfsharchiVHS-EVMS Medical Group, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Director of Student Health, Old Dominion University, Norfolk-Virginia, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0001-0510-1148
Joshua F EdwardsDirector of Medical Student Research at Macon & Joan Brock, Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University, Norfolk-Virginia, USA.
Kailash S RamVirginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University, Norfolk-Virginia, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7998-7064
Jingru HuangVirginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University, Norfolk-Virginia, USA.
Valicia HaleVirginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University, Norfolk-Virginia, USA.
Ismail El MouddenMacon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University, Norfolk-Virginia, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: This cross-sectional study examined whether anxiety and depression symptoms decrease as medical students progress through training (suggesting adjustment disorder) or persist (suggesting chronic conditions), while identifying associated risk factors, including student debt burden and treatment effectiveness. Methods: We surveyed medical students (years 1-4) at VHS-ODU using a sociodemographic questionnaire and validated screening instruments (GAD-7 for anxiety and PHQ-9 for depression) via RedCap from September to November 2024. Results: Among 126 students, Scores were higher in Years 2-3 than in Years 1 and 4, but differences by year were not significant (GAD-7 p=0.055; PHQ-9 p=0.352). Students with a prior mental-health diagnosis had higher symptoms (GAD-7 8.09 vs 4.31; PHQ-9 10.18 vs 4.72; p≤0.001). Among those with a prior diagnosis, scores did not differ by current treatment category (GAD-7, p = 0.900; PHQ-9, p = 0.263). Higher student-loan balances were associated with higher scores (descriptive only; group Ns were unavailable for testing). Conclusion: Medical schools should prioritize proactive screening and timely access to care, bolster support during clinical training, and address financial stressors; longitudinal studies are needed to test whether such changes reduce symptom burden.

Indexed as

loan burdenmedical studentsmental health

Identifiers

PMID42405022
PMCPMC13329014

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.