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Introduction: For young adults, the first year of higher education represents a transition period into adulthood associated with an increased risk of developing depression, anxiety, and stress, contributing to deteriorating physical and mental health. The present study aimed to analyze the relationship between depressive symptoms and social capital and lifestyles among Colombian university students. Methods: In 2020, a longitudinal repeated measures study was conducted on first year students at Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, Colombia. The study was conceptualized and approved by the university before the COVID-19 pandemic appeared. Each student completed a self-administered questionnaire including questions on sociodemographic characteristics, depressive symptoms, perceived stress, social capital, and lifestyles. The study's pilot was conducted in November 2019, and the two measurement points were in January 2020 (wave 1, before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared) and in August 2020 (wave 2, during the COVID-19 pandemic). A binary logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the relationship between depressive symptoms, perceived stress, social capital, and lifestyles. Findings: A total of 609 first year students (response rate = 58.11%) participated in wave 1, and 42% of the participants showed signs of clinically relevant depressive symptoms. In wave 2, despite the difficulties encountered in collecting data due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 216 students from wave 1 participated (35.47%). An increase in a sedentary lifestyle was observed (31.49%). We found that cognitive and behavioral social capital levels decreased by 12.03 and 24.54%, respectively. In addition, we observed a 6.5% increase in students with clinically relevant depressive symptoms compared to wave 1. A low level of behavioral [OR: 1.88; 95% CI (1.16, 3.04)] social capital was associated with clinically relevant depressive symptoms. Conclusion: The health of university students continues to be a public health concern. The study suggests that social capital may play an important role in preventing depressive symptoms. Therefore, universities should put effort into programs that bring students together and promote the creation of social capital.

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BACKGROUND: While resilience has generated a lot of interest in mental health, operationalizing the construct of resilience remains an important challenge. This study aims to evaluate the concordance of two resilience scales that evaluate intrapersonal aspects of resilience in adolescents. METHODS: Cross-sectional evaluation of internal consistency, concordance, and correlation of the Individual Protective Factors Index Questionnaire (IPFI) and the Adolescent Resilience Scale (ARS) in sixth grade students of three low-income public schools in Colombia. RESULTS: 325 adolescents (41.5% female) participated in the study (72.5% response rate). Mean age was 12.1 years (standard deviation [SD]: 1.04). Of a possible score from 1-4, the mean adjusted IPFI score was 3.3 (SD: 0.3; Cronbach's alpha: 0.87). Of a possible score from 21-105, the total ARS score was 76.4 (SD 13.0; Cronbach's alpha: 0.82); both distributions were non-normal and left-skewed. The Lin's concordance correlation coefficient was 0.34 and the Spearman correlation coefficient was 0.52 (p-value < 0.0001 for both). Notably, 10 adolescents (3.1% of the sample) had a score in the lowest quartile in one of the two instruments, and a score in the highest quartile in the other instrument. CONCLUSIONS: There was low concordance between the scales, with notable lack of overlap in who was identified as having "low" levels of resilience. To better elucidate and operationalize the construct of resilience, studies using resilience scales should consider greater focus in understanding what aspects of the construct are being measured and how they relate to meaningful variables (well-being, risk of illness, etc.).

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There are not many direct comparisons of anxiety and depression symptoms between medicine students and the general population. This study aimed to determine the type of anxiety and depression symptoms at a medical school in Bogota (Colombia), and to compare the findings with population data. All students enrolled at a medical school were invited to participate in 2017. The Self-Reporting Questionnaire was applied to measure anxious and depressive symptoms. These findings were compared with data from the National Survey of Mental Health 2015 that were obtained with the same instrument in the same age range (18-25 years). A total of 554 students participated in the survey (70% response rate); 477 were between 18 and 25 years old. Anxiety symptoms (≥5) were reported by 44.9% of the medical students and 6.8% of the general population, and depression symptoms (≥7) were reported by 33.9% and 2.6%, respectively. The most prevalent symptoms reported by the medical students were fatigue, lack of sleep, and feeling tired all the time. In turn, the general population reported headaches, fear, nervousness, tension, and uneasiness. All comparisons showed p-values < 0.01. As prevalence is higher and symptom profile is different, specific policies are needed to reduce risk throughout medical degree programmes.

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Phenomenon: Mental health problems among medical students are a worrisome issue; recent studies have shown that one-third may be suffering major depressive disorder and one out of ten had suicidal ideation. Few studies have evaluated the association of medical students' mental health and their sexual orientation. This study aimed to evaluate differences in mental health indicators among medical students with diverse sexual orientations at a South American medical school. Approach: This study is a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data obtained through an electronic survey. The survey assessed demographics, academic variables, and several mental health scales and indexes, including: World Health Organization Well-being Index, Satisfaction With Life Scale, Family APGAR (Adaptability, Partnership, Growth, Affection, and Resolve), Self-Reporting Questionnaire, Athens Insomnia Scale, Eating Attitudes Test, and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Sexual orientation was assessed using self-identification and responses dichotomized as heterosexual and non-heterosexual. Findings: 554 students completed the survey (response rate: 70%). Mean age was 20.6 years, and the sample was 58.7% women. Eighty-two participants (14.8%) self-identified as non-heterosexual; this group comprised mostly males, fewer of whom lived with their family, and more of whom used loans or scholarships to pay university tuition fees. After adjustment for sex and tuition fee payment, non-heterosexual orientation was significantly associated (adjusted Odds Ratios [aOR] above 3.00) with rating mental health as bad, self-perceiving a need for mental health evaluation/treatment, and reporting last-year use of psychiatric medication. Lastly, non-heterosexual respondents reported more frequent psychiatric symptoms (depression/anxiety scores, suicidal ideation, eating disorder symptoms and substance use) with an aOR between 2.17 and 2.51. Insights: This study suggests that self-identified non-heterosexual medical students exhibit worse mental health outcomes evaluated through validated self-report scales and subjective perception of mental health status. This report specifically indicates that non-heterosexual medical students report family dysfunction more often and have less social support, which serve as additional risk factors. Future studies must assess social support, clarify the impact of family and peer support in mental health problems, and explore students' views on their sexual identity and the burden imposed by experiences of discrimination.

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Se trata de un estudio descriptivo sobre el diagnóstico, antecedentes, estado general y resultado del tratamiento de 33 pacientes que fueron atendidos por ansiedad en el Hospital Pediátrico de La Misericordia entre junio de 1991 y junio de 1992. Los pacientes son 55 por ciento mujeres y 45 por ciento hombres, en promedio tenían 10 años y estaban cursando 5o. grado. Al hacer la diferencia por el tipo de ansiedad se encontró que la mayoría padecían de hiperansiedad (33 por ciento) seguidos por ansiedad postraumática (27 por ciento) y luego los otros tipos de ansiedad. La mejoría se presentó, en promedio, 30 días luego de iniciar el tratamiento. Los motivos de consulta que condujeron al estudio son muy diversos. Se hicieron diagnósticos pediátricos en el 67 por ciento de los niños. El 90 por ciento de los niños no tenían trastorno del desarrollo. En cambio el estrés psicosocial al cual estaban sometidos fue de severo a moderado en la mayoría. En casi todos los niños su funcionamiento global estaba seriamente deteriorado por el trastorno. Los pacientes se trataron con psicoterapia individual, información a la familia y psicotrópicos. Del grupo mejoraron 28 pacientes que representan el 85 por ciento y la mejoría se mantuvo al año de terminado el tratamiento.

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