Suicidal ideation among medical students of Pakistan: A cross-sectional study

•It is important to assist medical students who are considering the possibility of committing suicide, so that they overcome their difficulties.•It will be a tragic loss for the society if medical students succumb to pressure and the rate of suicide continues to rise.•There is a need to identify the prevalence of suicidal ideation among medical students and for student counseling.•The present study identifies the prevalence of suicidal ideation among the present medical students in a developing country like Pakistan.•The present study identifies substance abuse as the single greatest risk factor predisposing to suicidal ideation.

Few studies have investigated suicidal ideation among medical students in the developing world. We found only one report on suicidal ideation among medical students in Pakistan published in the year 2005. The present cross-sectional survey on suicidal ideation conducted in July 2013 involved 331 medical students of Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan. In the past one year, suicidal ideation was found in 118 (35.6%) students. Forty-six (13.9%) of all the students had made a plan in their life time to commit suicide while 16 (4.8%) of the 331 students tried to commit suicide at some point of time in their life. More females than males pondered suicide while first year medical students formed the majority of those with suicidal ideation. The single greatest risk factor predisposing to suicidal ideation was substance abuse. This was followed jointly by parental neglect and previous psychiatric disorder. Campaigns against substance abuse and counseling of vulnerable students will help in eradicating suicidal intent.