Alcohol consumption is a major public health problem facing universities. The objectives of the present study were to investigate alcohol consumption and the behaviors associated with it among Romanian university medical students, with particular reference to sex differences, behavioral consequences, and lifestyle patterns. We performed a cross-sectional study on 722 medical students (60.4% females; 39.6% males); the participants filled out a validated questionnaire containing the following items co-occurring with alcohol consumption: smoking, illicit drug use, energy drink consumption, and other behavioral drinking consequences. Physical activity was estimated using the IPAQ questionnaire. We statistically analyzed the interrelation between alcohol consumption and target factors. The present study showed a high percentage of at-risk drinkers among male (15.0%) and female medical students (14.9%) in the studied group. Male students reported higher illicit drug use and physical activity than female students, but the at-risk female drinkers’ group consumed more drugs than the low-risk female drinkers. Both male and female drinkers engaged in other risky behaviors correlated with drinking (e.g., smoking, low academic performance, and driving a car after drinking). Public health policies, strategies, and interventions should be initiated to reduce alcohol consumption and associated behaviors in medical students.

BackgroundStigmatizing attitudes to mental illness, and especially schizophrenia, are not limited to the general population but are also common among health professionals. Health professionals are in a position to model health related attitudes both in the general public and patients. Medical students are an interesting group to focus upon, since they are future health professionals and correcting stigmatizing attitudes is still possible during their educational curriculum.MethodsThis study investigated the attitude toward mental illness in medical students at the Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy. We surveyed first year students, since they have not yet received specific classes or internships in psychiatry; 322 students from the Romanian and English sections participated, representing a response rate of 94.7%. The questionnaire consisted of the Romanian and English versions of Link’s Social Distance Scale towards people with mental illness scale.ResultsOverall, medical students had a relatively negative attitude towards people with mental illness, with moderate social distance and stereotypical attitudes. The level of personal contact with people with mental illness was correlated with positive attitudes. International students had scored lower then Romanian students on social distance toward mentally ill patients.ConclusionsMedical education can play an important role in the attitudes of students toward mental illness. Medical students have stigmatizing attitudes about mentally ill patients. Personal contact with people suffering from mental illness might contribute to a positive attitude from the medical students toward mentally ill patients.

Crisis situations, which cause disturbances in the daily routine of the individual can contribute to the development of mental problems. On the 26th of February, 2020, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported in Romania. On the 16th of March, the President of Romania declared The State of Emergency. The following day, by Order of the Ministry of the Internal Affairs medical students starting with the 4th year of study were to be recruited, on a voluntary basis, to support activities in the Emergency Rooms, if needed. Numerous medical students volunteered. The medical students were exposed to online learning and the possibility of being recruited as volunteers in COVID-19 units. In April 2020, we created and distributed an online survey via www.psysafe.org, which collected data on demographics, personal status of infection, and general mental health, including medication and substance use, sleeping problems in the previous week, perceived stress in the previous month, and burnout in the previous two months. We translated and adapted 2 questionnaires to assess the COVID-19 related anxiety and fear. The participants were Romanian medical students. Data was statistically analysed with SPSS 20. Out of 550 surveys filled, we analysed 545 valid surveys. The mean age of the respondents was 21.66 (±2.55) years, with 81.7% female (445) and 18.3% male (100). 91.6% of the respondents declared that they were never diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. Coffee was used on a daily basis by 53.8% of the students, with tobacco coming in second in 19.4%. Female students perceived a higher level of stress and showed a higher level of burnout. Female students scored higher for the anxiety and fear related to Covid-19. Medical students with mental health history scored higher on perceived stress, burnout, anxiety and fear related to COVID-19. Perceived stress indicated a level of moderate stress regardless of the mental history status. For all students, the burnout value indicated that some attention was needed, as they might had been candidates to burnout. Moreover, students diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder during the pandemic showed signs that they were on the road to burnout, with changes needed to be done at the time. There were statistically significant positive correlation, of various degrees between perceived stress, burnout, anxiety and fear related to COVID-19, with the strongest one observed for the perceived stress and burnout, in Romanian medical students.

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Medical students face multiple stressors, such as academic overload, pressure to succeed, competition with peers and transition to adulthood. In addition to this academic context, they must cope with death and disease during their training in clinical wards. These stressors could lead to adopting risk behaviors as smoking, cannabis use or binge dinking. Research consistently indicates that medical students report high levels of depression and suicidal ideation. Medical students with depressive symptomatology face escalated risk for alcohol-related negative consequences. AimThe aim of the study was evaluate the level of academic stress and to examine the prevalence of depression and substance use, including marijuana, alcohol and other illicit substances in a sample of medical students in Romania.