Abstract

Mood disorders are psychiatric conditions that lead to alterations in behavior, cognition, emotional state, and overall well-being. Such changes in individual characteristics have a significant impact not only on those affected but also on their families and close relationships. Admission to higher education represents a period of substantial transformation in one’s life, particularly for medical students who are exposed to intense pressures and stressors, including frequent contact with illness and critically ill patients. Understanding this context is essential, as the prevalence of mental disorders among medical students is higher than that observed in the general population. This study consists of an integrative literature review, structured according to the stages of the PRISMA protocol: identification of the topic and formulation of the research question; search and selection of scientific articles; data extraction and categorization from the selected studies; critical appraisal of the studies included in the review; synthesis of the results and presentation of the findings. Therefore, this research aims to investigate mood disorders among medical students in Brazil, assessing the factors within the medical environment that may contribute to their development, the prevalence of these disorders, and the associated determinants.

Keywords

mental health, medical students, mood disorders