Students of veterinary medicine are more likely than human medicine students or undergraduate students to struggle with depression, U.S. researchers say. Mac Hafen, a therapist and clinical instructor at Kansas State's College of Veterinary Medicine, and colleagues at Kansas State University, the University of Nebraska and East Carolina University, say they took a closer look at depression and anxiety among veterinary medical students.
Although the mental health of human medicine students has been extensively studied, the same extent of study had not been performed with veterinary medicine students, Hafen says.
"We are hoping to predict what contributes to depression levels so that we can intervene and make things run a little bit more smoothly for students themselves," Hafen says in a statement.
Once a semester, the researchers anonymously surveyed veterinary medicine students in various stages of academic study.
During the first year of veterinary school, 32 percent of the veterinary medicine students surveyed showed symptoms of depression, compared to 23 percent of human medicine students who showed symptoms above the clinical cutoff, as evidenced by other studies.
Veterinary students experience higher depression rates as early as the first semester of their first year of study, but the depression rates appear to increase even more during the second and third year of school. However, during the fourth year, depression rates drop down to first-year levels, Hafen says.
The findings are published in the Journal of Veterinary Medicine Education.
Motorcycle helmets may protect bikers' brains but they also may contribute to hearing loss, researchers in Britain say. 
Substances in grapes can reduce the amount of cell damage caused in skin exposed to the sun's ultraviolet radiation, researchers in Spain say. 
There are significant differences between those diagnosed with high cholesterol and those with high cholesterol and hypertension, U.S. researchers say. 
China has banned 104 health books officials say contain pseudoscientific information of little or no value to readers. 
A men's support group at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas wrote a book, which shares stories of members whose wives had cancer. 
Engineers at a British university say they've designed and flown the first "printed" aircraft, an unmanned air vehicle whose entire structure has been printed. 
U.S. researchers say a new, affordable early warning system for the nation's aging bridges might avert bridge collapses that could result in loss of life. 
A lawsuit filed against former Miami Heat star 
The international federation overseeing basketball ruled Friday NBA players can play for other teams during the NBA lockout. 
The Detroit Tigers have acquired pitchers 
The Arizona Diamondbacks strengthened their starting rotation Saturday, acquiring right-hander 
Despite the growing pains at the new Oprah Winfrey Network, 
Israeli student protests over rising tuition and the economy have spread from Tel Aviv to at least a half-dozen other cities, officials said. 
U.S. banks are preparing for the possibility that millions of federal checks will be delayed if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling, officials say. 
Police say DNA testing has confirmed a burned body found in Detroit was that of a missing 5-year-old girl. 
A Quebec woman rushed to a hospital after participating in an intense sweating detoxification program has died, officials say. 
At least 24 people were killed in an explosion at a mine in Ukraine, emergency officials said Saturday. 
The dance of raising the U.S. debt limit has gone on for weeks, with President Obama and Republicans circling each other like Sharks and Jets. But can the president use the Constitution to raise the debt limit by himself to avoid economic disaster? 
The U.S. Senate late Saturday put off a scheduled vote on a plan by Majority Leader Harry Reid to increase the federal debt limit. 
About 100 doctors and other residents completed a march to Jerusalem, where they set up a tent to protest working conditions, witnesses said. 
Eleven religious leaders were arrested staging a sit-in in the Capitol rotunda to protest budget cuts, U.S. Capitol Police said. 
Thousands of religious activists led by the Thousands of religious activists led by the Muslim Brotherhood rallied in Cairo's Tahrir Square Friday in a sharp shift from secular protests, witnesses said. 
A bill in the U.S. House of Representatives aims to strengthen rules regarding the safety of oil and natural gas pipelines, a lawmaker said. 
London oil and natural gas explorer Afren announced it acquired two production-sharing contracts for work in the Kurdish region of Iraq. 
High food imports are putting Cuban economic reforms at risk because of the drain they pose on foreign exchange resources. 
Washington is reviewing a request from the Libyan Transitional National Council to open an embassy in the United States, the U.S. State Department said. 
Agreements for increased cross-border trade between Indian and Pakistani areas of Kashmir were reached during peace talks in New Delhi, authorities said. 
China's Defense Ministry says it will refit and recommission an imported aircraft carrier purchased from Ukraine for "scientific" research and training. 
Israel's Parliament maintained the religious monopoly on marriage Wednesday, rejecting a civil alternative. 
Tropical storm Nock-ten pummeled Luzon in the Philippines, killing more than two dozen people so far, officials said Wednesday. 
Russia successfully test fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile in the Barents Sea, officials say. 
Heavy rain, strong winds and hail during severe storms across China have left at least 54 people dead in recent days, officials said Wednesday. 
Yemeni regime forces attacked a group of anti-government protesters Wednesday, injuring at least four, officials say. 
Reinstating U.S. goodness and strength is key to its future, former Alaska Gov. 
The United States is insincere in showing solidarity with activists seeking to topple Syria's president, but al-Qaida is genuine, al-Qaida's new leader said. 
An Oakland, Calif., man was on life support after being shot in the head while people from his family's van, police say. 
A man who posed as a teen basketball player pleaded guilty in a Texas court to sexual assault and tampering charges, officials say. 
A universal flu vaccine against all strains may come in the next five years, replacing annual shots, the chief of the National Institutes of Health said. 
A rescue team in the Russian republic of Khakassia said they caught a 6 1/2-foot crocodile spotted floating in a lake. 
"The Nanny" co-stars 
Britain's 
Pop star Beyonce has been booked to perform this week on the female-powered talk show "The View" in New York. 
Chicago Bears quarterback 
U.S. cable network TNT says it has ordered a second season of its legal drama "Franklin & Bash," starring 
Odette Annable, a star of the sitcom "Breaking In," has landed a role on the U.S. medical drama "House," TVGuide.com said Tuesday.