Loneliness and associated factors among medical students in France: A nationwide study

OBJECTIVES: Loneliness and medical students' mental health are public health issues. There are little data on loneliness and psychiatric symptoms in medical students. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of loneliness among French medical students and to investigate the association with sociodemographic, academic, and psychiatric factors. STUDY DESIGN: This cross-sectional study was conducted between June 10 and July 28, 2024, among French medical students. METHODS: Loneliness was measured using the UCLA3-item Loneliness Scale. The presence of major depressive disorder over the past year was evaluated using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview - Short Form. Suicidal ideation was assessed by one question. We used the Sick, Control, One, Fat, Food (SCOFF) questionnaire for eating disorder and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. RESULTS: 8312 medical students were included, and 35% experienced loneliness. In multivariate analysis, being a woman (OR = 1.26), single (OR = 1.69), feeling moderate (OR = 1.53) or severe (OR = 2.88) financial difficulties and being a clinical student (OR = 1.14) were positively associated with loneliness. Loneliness was significantly associated with dropout thoughts, major depressive disorder (OR = 3.00), suicidal ideation (OR = 3.01) and symptoms of eating disorders (OR = 1.95). Excessive alcohol consumption was negatively associated with loneliness (OR = 0.85). The response rate was low (9%). CONCLUSIONS: Loneliness is a prevalent and ignored issue in public health. Its association with psychiatric symptoms suggested its importance. Longitudinal studies are needed to understand the link between them. Acting against loneliness could improve medical students' well-being and reduce dropouts.