A cross sectional study of suicidal ideation and depression among students of a University of Medical Sciences

Suicide is a serious public health problem with a high prevalence among students. This study aimed to investigate suicidal ideation and its related factors among students at a medical sciences university in Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2021 on 310 students at Bam University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Suicidal Thoughts Scale, the Student Depression Scale, and the Wish-to-Die Scale. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between independent variables and suicidal ideation. The mean age of participants was 21.84 ± 2.6 years (range: 18–42). The mean depression score was 26.6 ± 16.43 (range: 0–64), and the mean wish-to-die score was 6.32 ± 3.40 (range: 0–10). Overall, 64 students (20.6%) reported suicidal ideation. After adjusting for age, gender, and marital status, each one-unit increase in depression score was associated with a 6% increase in the odds of suicidal ideation (aOR = 1.06; 95% CI 1.02–1.10; p = 0.002). Conversely, each one-unit increase in the wish-to-die score was associated with a 39% decrease in the odds of suicidal ideation (aOR = 0.61; 95% CI 0.51–0.73; p < 0.001). Medical students had significantly higher odds of suicidal ideation compared to nursing students (aOR = 2.91; 95% CI 1.12–7.56; p = 0.028). Suicidal ideation is relatively common among university students. Identifying at-risk individuals and providing targeted interventions—such as educational workshops and psychological counseling—are essential to address this issue.