Major depressive disorder in Mexican medical students and associated factors: A focus on current and past abuse experiences

•In this study, we evaluated the association between MDD and several potential risk factors, with a focus on current and past abuse experiences. For this purpose, a large (n = 1068) representative sample of medical students from each academic year during exam season was evaluated.•We present two main findings: (1) depressive symptom severity correlates with perceived academic stress levels on each academic year, and (2) current emotional abuse, personal and family history of depression, and perceived academic stress were significantly associated with an increased risk of current MDD among medical students.•We discuss on the implications of our findings for implementing preventive actions, early detection and prompt treatment of students with an elevated risk to suffer MDD throughout their medical career. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is highly prevalent among medical students (MS). Abuse experiences, as well as stress, are among the factors associated with MDD. However, their association with MDD in MS has been scarcely addressed. A cross-sectional study design was used to evaluate the association between MDD and possible risk factors, focusing on current and past abuse experiences inside and outside the academic setting in a large representative MS sample (n = 1,068) using self-report instruments to assess MDD (PHQ-9) and perceived academic stress levels during exam season. Depressive symptom severity directly correlates with levels of perceived academic stress. The prevalence of MDD was 16.2%. A history of emotional abuse during childhood or adolescence, as well as most types of current abuse were associated with MDD. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that current emotional abuse outside school had the strongest association with MDD in MS, followed by a personal history of depression and suicide attempt, a family history of depression, and perceived academic stress levels. Cross-sectional design, participants represent a specific population, and other variables that could be associated with MDD: comorbid psychiatric disorders, current antidepressant treatment and protective factors (resilience and health-promoting coping strategies) were not evaluated. MDD is strongly associated with several risk factors that include most types of current and past abuse experiences. Timely identification of individuals at-risk will be critical to establish preventive strategies to limit the impact of MDD in MS and offer prompt therapeutic alternatives when n