Depression is a serious illness that affects health, family and professional life of many people of all sectors of society. It also affects medical students, regardless of their geographical location. The stress of studying and the great responsibility awaiting students immediately after graduation may predispose the occurrence of depression.

To compare the level of depression among medical students from different countries.

Medical students from different parts of the world were asked to fill in an electronic form containing the Beck Depression Inventory(BDI). The form was created separately for each country, using official translation of the BDI, approved by the competent psychiatry association. The control group were students of the University of Technology. Google Drive and Statisticav10 were used for statistical analysis.

The form was filled in by 752 medical students from 7 countries: Poland-218, Taiwan-227, Germany-64, Portugal -102, Mexico- 65, Indonesia-45, Spain-31. The control group consisted of 195 students. The average score of the BDI of Polish medical students was 14.0+/- 10.0 points. The score of the BDI of the control group was: 9.5+/-8.2 points. The score of the BDI of the other countries: Taiwan-10,02+/-7,48, Germany- 7,57+/-5,92, Portugal-7,01+/-7,41, Mexico-9,85+/-8,05, Indonesia-11,33+/-8,96, Spain-7,24+/-6,92. There was statistically significant differences(p<0.05) between groups in terms of the mean score of the BDI.

Depression is a serious problem among medical students regardless the part of the world they are studying. A proper monitoring of depression is required, as well as rapid and appropriate help for those who suffer from it.