Is There a Burnout Epidemic among Medical Students? Results from a Systematic Review.

Background and Objectives: Medical students represent the ideal target group for promoting mental health and mental wellbeing, being exposed to specific risk factors, such as the content of medical training, the exposure to sickness and death, and a stressful academic routine. Medical students report high levels of cynicism and emotional exhaustion, which represent two of the essential features of burnout syndrome. In this systematic review, studies assessing the levels of burnout among medical students through validated tools worldwide were analyzed. Materials and Methods: A systematic review has been performed in order to identify studies: (1) focusing on samples of medical students; (2) evaluating burnout syndrome using validated tools; (3) providing prevalence data on burnout; and (4) written in English. Results: Out of the 5547 papers initially obtained, 64 were finally included in the analysis. The sample sizes ranged from 51 to 2682 participants. Almost all studies had a cross-sectional design; the Maslach Burnout Inventory and its related versions were the most frequently used assessment tools. The prevalence of burnout, which was stratified based on gender and academic stage, ranged from 5.6 to 88%. Burnout was mostly predicted by thoughts of stopping medical education, negative life events, lack of support, dissatisfaction, and poor motivation. Conclusions: The prevalence of burnout syndrome in medical students is quite heterogeneous, reaching a peak of 88% in some countries. However, several predictors have been identified, including negative life events or poor motivation. These findings highlight the need to develop preventive interventions targeting the future generation of medical doctors, in order to improve their coping strategies and resilience styles.

The Efficacy of Psychoeducational Family Intervention for Major Depression: Study Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

This study aims to assess the efficacy of a psychoeducational family intervention (PFI) to reduce the severity of depressive symptoms and to improve psychosocial functioning and to increase social contacts in a sample of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). The degree to which PFI will reduce patients' relapses, hospitalizations, and self-stigmatization and will improve their quality of life will also be assessed. Other secondary outcomes include the improvement of relatives' coping strategies, family burden, expressed emotions and quality of life. This non-profit, unfunded, national, multicentric randomized controlled trial with blinded outcome assessments will be carried out in 24 Italian university outpatient units. Families will be assessed at baseline and at 6, 12, and 24 months post-randomization. Our working hypothesis is that the PFIs will reduce the patients' severity of depressive symptoms, their relapses, and their hospitalizations, and that they will improve their psychosocial functioning and quality of life. We expect these results to be maintained after 12 and 24 months, albeit with a reduction in magnitude. The sample will consist of 384 patients randomized at a 1:1 ratio and stratified according to center, age, gender, and educational level.

Emotional non-acceptance mediates the relationship between insecure attachment and specific psychopathology in women with eating disorders.

OBJECTIVE: Insecure attachment is considered a general risk factor for eating disorders (ED). Emotion dysregulation has been proposed as one of the possible mechanisms by which attachment insecurity may affect ED psychopathology. Aim of the present study was to investigate whether difficulties in acceptance of emotions or emotional clarity may mediate the connection between insecure attachment and ED psychopathology. METHOD: One hundred and twenty patients participated and completed the Italian version of Eating Disorder Inventory-2, Experience in Close Relationship questionnaire and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. A mediator path model was performed, in which insecure attachment dimensions were set as independent variables, ED specific psychopathology measures as dependent variables, and non-acceptance of emotion and lack of emotional clarity as mediators. RESULTS: The association between both attachment avoidance and anxiety and ED specific symptoms was mediated by emotional non-acceptance, but not by emotional clarity. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed the importance to address emotion regulation in individuals with ED, focussing on improving emotional acceptance. Exploring early developmental processes which lead to non-acceptance of emotions could improve this psychological trait in people with ED.

Does antenatal depression predict post-partum depression and obstetric complications? Results from a longitudinal, long-term, real-world study.

Background: Main aims of the present paper are to: (1) assess the prevalence of antenatal depression (AD) and identify its predictors; (2) analyse the impact of AD on obstetric outcomes and on the incidence of post-partum depression. Methods: All pregnant women referring to the Gynecology and Obstetrics inpatients unit of the University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" were invited to participate. Upon acceptance, women completed the Italian version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and an ad-hoc questionnaire on the women's sociodemographic, gynecological and peripartum characteristics as well as their psychiatric history. Women were assessed at each trimester of pregnancy, immediately after the childbirth and after one, three, 6 and 11 months. Results: 268 pregnant women were recruited, with a mean of 32.2 (±5.81) years. Ninety-seven women (36.2%) reported the presence of depressive symptoms during pregnancy. Predictors of AD were personal history of depression, a family history for depressive disorders and problematic relationships with the partner. The presence of AD was associated to a reduced gestational age at the time of delivery, a lower APGAR score at 1 and 5 min, labor induction and admission of the new-born into neonatal intensive care unit. Mothers with antenatal depression are less likely to natural breastfeed. Lastly, antenatal depression was a risk factor for higher EPDS scores at follow-ups. Conclusions: Our results support the idea that women should be screened during pregnancy and post-partum for the presence of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Health professionals should be adequately trained to detect psychiatric symptoms during pregnancy.