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Review Article Volume 16 Issue 3
Mood disorders in medical students: an integrative literature review
Émerson Botelho Maia, Laiany Caroline dos Santos Silva, Juliana Fonseca Cavalcante, Adiláo Freitas Costa de Lima, Ana Carolina Ribeiro de Araujo e Araujo, Otto Mauro dos Santos Rosa Almir José Guimaraes Gouveia, Maria Aparecida Costa, Hiago Sousa Bastos, Consuelo Penha Castro Marques
Received: May 14, 2026 | Published: May 28, 2026
Citation: Maia EB, Silva lcs, Cavalcante jf, et al. Mood disorders in medical students: an integrative literature review. J Neurol Stroke. 2026;16(3):106-113. DOI: 10.15406/jnsk.2026.16.00660
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
©2026 Maia, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.