Background and objectiveAdopting healthy lifestyle pillars promotes longer lives free from major chronic diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic imposed behavioural changes and psychological burdens. The aim of this study was to assess changes in medical students' six lifestyle pillars that were imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 548 Brazilian medical students' digitally collected demographic data and lifestyle characteristics from before and during the pandemic. ResultsThe pandemic had a neutral impact on sleep quality and a predominantly negative impact on interpersonal relationships, exercise and eating. Approximately 67.5% students decreased their tobacco and alcohol use. Spirituality was maintained at 66%. Those who reported having emotional wellbeing (27.9%) during the pandemic fulfilled a higher number of pre-pandemic lifestyle pillars (median [IQR]) when compared with those who reported an absence of wellbeing (4 [3-4] pillars, compared with 3 [2-4], P = 0.006). DiscussionThe results reinforce the importance of adhering to as many lifestyle pillars as possible to preserve emotional wellbeing during periods of stress such as those experienced during the pandemic.THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC has grown exponentially worldwide since December 2019. 1 Brazil implemented social distancing on 13 March 2020, 2 which caused increasing distress and directly affected individuals' mental health, 3 work structures, lifestyles and interpersonal relationships. 2 The lifestyle medicine pillars are based on healthy eating, routine exercise, stress management, avoidance of risky substances, positive relationships and better sleep. 4 People who adopt healthy lifestyle pillars have a longer life expectancy, free from major chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer, when compared with people who do not adopt healthy lifestyle pillars. [5][6][7][8] Spirituality helps individuals to develop a sense of purpose in life and has been shown to equip individuals with highly effective strategies for coping with stress. 9 Considering the pandemic's impact on health behaviours, people will likely change how they deal with each pillar.The aim of this study was to assess how the COVID-19 pandemic changed medical students' six lifestyle pillars and to investigate the effect that their previous lifestyles had on their emotional wellbeing during the social distancing period.The lifestyle of Brazilian medical students: What changed and how it protected their emotional wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic Research

Introduction: According to the World Health Organization, licit and illicit drugs when used have the ability to change the processes of consciousness, mood and thinking through your acting mechanism in the brain, which regulate mood, functions of thought and motivation. Research has shown high levels of drug use among students of medical school, which constitute alternatives to psychological problems caused by the stressful routine of a full-time course, which requires changes in lifestyle and in the acquisition of greater responsibility. Objective: To describe the prevalence of licit and illicit drug use in students of medical school to a private college in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Method: This subset study is part of an observational study with cross-sectional delineation performed on a sample from the first to the sixth year of medical students. The first stage of the study was designed to obtain data to prepare a socio demographic characteristics and evaluation of quality of life in these students. The data was collected from an anonymous questionnaire. Results: We evaluate 490 students: 84 (17.1%) of the first year, 119 (24.3%) of the second, 100 (20.4%) of the third, 66 (13.5%) of the fourth, 85 (17.3%) of the fifth and 36 (7.3%) of the sixth year. The average age was 21.7 years (16-42), 314 (64.1%) of female gender. In the total group, the percentage of alcohol consumption was 81.6%, there is no statistical significantly difference between the genders (81.3% male and 81.8% female) or between the basic cycles of first and second year course x internists from fifth and sixth years (79.3% x 80.8%, respectively). The consumption of illegal drugs found a percentage on the total group of 13.9%, with significant differences in both comparison groups (p < 0.001), 22.2% in male x 9.2% female gender and 12.8% basic cycle x 5.8% boarding school cycle. Conclusion: A sizable percentage of students reporting use of licit and illicit drugs, underscoring the increasing prevalence of alcohol use among women in the general population, especially the worrying percentage of use of illicit drugs among students. This underscores the need for strategies of University managers in implementing policies to reduce and control the consumption of drugs.