Suicide risk and influencing factors among Austrian veterinary medicine students

Numerous studies revealed increased rates of mental health problems in veterinarians all over the world and a related higher risk in death by suicide. Several research has focused on the mental health status in veterinary medicine students and a recent publication from Germany reported a 4.2 times higher suicide risk for veterinary medicine students compared to the general population of the same age range. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of suicidality (suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts) in Austrian veterinary medicine students and to identify underlying risk factors. The hypothesis is that there is a high prevalence of suicidal behavior among Austrian veterinary medicine students as well as an association between high depression rates and suicidal behavior and a relation between non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal behavior. A total of 430 Austrian veterinary medicine students (29.11 % of the total population of Austrian veterinary medicine students, 85.8 % female, mean age 23.14 years) filled out an online questionnaire regarding their mental health status, including symptoms of depression (PHQ-9), NSSI, and suicidal behavior (SBQ-R) between November 2022 and January 2023. In 55 % of the evaluated questionnaires, students got above the cut-off for clinically relevant symptoms of depression, in 20.6 % for suicidal behavior, and 31.2 % reported non-suicidal self-injury. There was a 6.5 times higher risk to experience suicidal behavior for those who exceeded the cut-off for clinically relevant depressive symptoms and a 4.9 times higher risk for those who engaged in NSSI. Further findings of this study showed significant associations between loneliness, high stress, the (preferred) specialization in zoo- and wildlife medicine, and the male gender with suicidality. In conclusion, Austrian veterinary medicine students are at high risk for suicidal behavior especially when it comes to underlying mental health problems such as depression, NSSI, high stress, or experiencing loneliness.