SAÚDE MENTAL E QUALIDADE DE VIDA DE ESTUDANTES DE MEDICINA DE UMA UNIVERSIDADE PÚBLICA BRASILEIRA.

Mental health problems in medical students affect academic performance, lead to dropout and negative course evaluation, and influence future professional life. The objective was to estimate the prevalence of mental health problems and the perception of quality of life, according to course cycles, an epidemiological survey was carried out in with 1,980 undergraduate medical students at the Federal University of Minas Gerais were invited. In 2018, students answered the online questionnaire (Google Forms), containing sociodemographic information, related to the course, behaviors, mental health and quality of life. A descriptive and comparative analysis was performed, according to the cycles (Basic, Theoretical-practical and Clinical), using Pearson's Chi-square and ANOVA. The response rate was 74.2% (n=1,470). Depression (42.8%), anxiety (19.4%), changes in sleep (70.0%) and worse perception of quality of life were more prevalent in the Basic cycle; consumption of alcohol and anxiolytics in Theoretical-Practical (88.3%; 23.5%) and Clinical (86.5%; 27.9%) cycles. Higher prevalence of mental health problems and worse perception of quality of life in the first two years of the medical course show the need to offer psychological support to newcomers to the university, in addition to improving the educational environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]