More than half of dental students in a newly-released study presented moderate or severe levels of depression.
Results showed that around 23% had moderate depression while 34% had severe depression.
In addition, 29% had medium depression and only 4% had minimal depression.
The researchers concluded that the study contributes to a better understanding of the prevalence of depression in dental students from El Salvador.
The research was conducted at the faculty of dentistry within the University of Salvador, involving around 450 students.
An observational, descriptive and analytical study, questionnaires were sent to dental students between October, November, and December 2021.
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Negative impact
Mental health has hit the dental headlines in recent months following on from the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the end of 2022, a GDC-commissioned report into fitness to practise investigations found they had a ‘significant negative impact’ on individuals – despite being ‘largely fair and effective’.
The independent qualitative research was commissioned by the GDC to understand and learn from the experiences of 70 individuals involved with fitness to practise.
The research looked at historical cases dating from 2015 – 2021. It found that, although outcomes were seen as largely fair and effective, there were often significant negative impacts reported on the mental health and wellbeing of participants.
This could have unintended consequences for professional behaviour and practice as a result, the GDC said.
The full research report, and further information from John Cullinane, are available on the GDC’s website.
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