Mental Health Disparities among Pre-Clinical Medical Students at Saint Louis University during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected racial and ethnic minorities. Medical students were also particularly impacted as they coped with increased stressors due to delayed medical training and a high prevalence of mental health conditions. This study investigates mental health disparities of underrepresented in medicine (URM) students at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine (SLUSOM). An anonymous online survey was distributed to first- and second-year medical students at SLUSOM in February 2021. The survey queried demographic information, lifestyle factors, and pandemic-related and institutional concerns. Mental health was assessed via the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Statistical tests were run with SPSS, version 27. A convenience sample of 87 students responded to the survey. Students who were categorized as URM were significantly more likely to be at risk of major depressive disorder during the pandemic. Concern about a lack of financial support was significantly greater among students categorized as URM. Concerns regarding a lack of financial support, mental health support, and decreased quality of medical training significantly predicted PHQ-9 scores. Our findings revealed several key factors that may exacerbate mental health disparities among URM students during the pandemic. Providing adequate financial and academic resources for URMs may improve mental health outcomes for similar adverse events in the future.

Optical coherence tomography in healthy human subjects in the setting of prolonged dark adaptation.

Human studies have established that short periods of dark adaptation can induce outer retinal thinning and various band intensity changes that can be detected with Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). Similar findings were observed in mice, including a positive correlation between the degree of outer retinal changes and dark adaptation duration. We decided to assess potential retinal structural changes following prolonged dark adaptation in humans. 40 healthy subjects without any ocular diseases participated in this study. For each subject, one eye was covered for dark adaptation for four hours, and the other eye was left uncovered as a control. Before and after the dark adaptation period, both eyes were assessed with OCT. Using the Heidelberg Spectralis system, basic statistical functions, and qualitative and quantitative analysis, we were able to compare retinal layer thicknesses and band intensities between covered (dark adapted) versus uncovered (control) eyes. Prolonged dark adaptation did not induce any significant thickness, volume, or intensity changes in the outer retina or in the inner or overall retina. These observations thus alter our current understanding of the mechanisms underlying dark adaptation's neuroprotective effects in preventing blindness and require further study.

Medical student anxiety and depression in the COVID-19 Era: Unique needs of underrepresented students.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant morbidity, mortality, and mental health consequences. Few studies have examined the mental toll of COVID-19 on United States (US) medical students, who experience greater rates of depression and anxiety than the general population. Students who identify as underrepresented in medicine (URM) may experience even greater mental health adversities than non-URM peers. This study examines COVID-19's impact on preclinical medical student anxiety and depression and unique challenges disproportionately affecting URM students during the initial phase of the pandemic. Methods: Medical students at four US institutions completed an anonymous survey including the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) questionnaires for depression and anxiety. Participants provided information on demographics, past mental health difficulties, and concerns during the pandemic. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests were performed using SPSS. Results: During the initial phase of the pandemic, URMs were 3.71 times more likely to be in the at-risk category on GAD-7 than non-URM peers. Before COVID-19, there was no significant difference between self-reported feelings or diagnoses of anxiety between groups. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were significant differences in feelings of increased anxiety between URM (Mdn = 76) and non-URM (Mdn = 49) students, U = 702.5, P < 0.001, feelings of increased sadness between URM (Mdn = 49) and non-URM (Mdn = 34) students, U = 1036.5, P = 0.042, concern for new financial difficulty between URM (Mdn = 50) and non-URM students (Mdn = 7), U = 950.5, P = 0.012, and concern about lack of mental health support from their academic institution between URM (Mdn = 18) and non-URM students (Mdn = 9), U = 1083, P = 0.036 (one-tailed). Discussion: Large-scale crises such as COVID-19 may exacerbate mental health disparities between URM and non-URM students. Medical schools should consider increasing financial and mental health support for URM students in response to these significant adverse events.