Institute of Veterinary Anatomy, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
PLoS One. 2022 Aug 17;17(8):e0270912. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270912. eCollection 2022.
Various studies from different countries indicated that veterinarians have a significantly increased risk of depression, suicidal ideation and of death by suicide. For German veterinarians a recent study has demonstrated a three times higher rate for depression, two times higher rate for suicidal ideation and a five times higher suicide risk compared to the German general population. For veterinary students, recent studies in the US and UK indicated higher mental distress. To date, empirical studies on depression, suicidal ideation and suicide risk among veterinary students in Germany were lacking so far. This study investigates depression, suicidal ideation and suicide risk of veterinary students in Germany.
913 German veterinary students (14.3% response rate, 90.7% women, mean age 23.6 years) between 18 and 46 years were included and compared with representative German general population samples from 2007 (N = 1097, 55.4% women, mean age 33.9) and 2015 (N = 1033, 56.1% women, mean age 32.8) of the same age range using the depression module of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Suicide Behaviors questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R). The general population samples were collected with the assistance of a demographic consulting company.
The prevalence of depression among German veterinary students was 45.9% (compared to 3.2% in the general population), suicidal ideation was 19.9% (compared to 4.5% in the general population) and suicide risk was 24.0% (compared to 6.6% in the general population).
In this study, German veterinary students have a 22.1 times higher risk to be screened positive for depression, a 4 times higher risk for reporting current suicidal ideation and they are 4.2 times more likely to have an increased suicide risk compared with the general population in Germany of the same age range.
来自不同国家的多项研究表明，兽医的抑郁、自杀意念和自杀风险显著增加。最近一项针对德国兽医的研究表明，与德国普通人群相比，德国兽医的抑郁率高出三倍，自杀意念率高出两倍，自杀风险高出五倍。对于兽医学生，最近在美国和英国的研究表明他们的精神压力更大。迄今为止，德国兽医学生的抑郁、自杀意念和自杀风险的实证研究尚属空白。本研究调查了德国兽医学生的抑郁、自杀意念和自杀风险。
本研究纳入了 913 名年龄在 18 至 46 岁之间的德国兽医学生（回应率为 14.3%，90.7%为女性，平均年龄为 23.6 岁），并与 2007 年（N=1097，55.4%为女性，平均年龄为 33.9）和 2015 年（N=1033，56.1%为女性，平均年龄为 32.8）的德国普通人群样本进行了比较，使用了患者健康问卷（PHQ-9）的抑郁模块和自杀行为问卷修订版（SBQ-R）。普通人群样本是在一家人口统计咨询公司的协助下收集的。
德国兽医学生的抑郁患病率为 45.9%（与普通人群的 3.2%相比），自杀意念为 19.9%（与普通人群的 4.5%相比），自杀风险为 24.0%（与普通人群的 6.6%相比）。
在这项研究中，与德国同年龄段的普通人群相比，德国兽医学生的抑郁筛查阳性风险高 22.1 倍，当前自杀意念的风险高 4 倍，自杀风险高 4.2 倍。
