Purpose: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a global health crisis that has impacted daily life due to the policies created to contain the outbreak. Recent studies showed that medical students, a high-stress population, experienced deteriorated mental well-being during the pandemic. The aim of the present study was to assess stress and the need for support among Thai medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic, as a multicenter study.Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study which collected data from second through sixth year medical students. Data was collected during the pandemic from multiple medical schools spanning all six regions of Thailand. Questionnaires included: demographic data; the Thai version of the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (T-PSS-10) assessing stress level and the sources of stress; and the received supports from medical schools, the satisfaction with the supports, and the further necessary needs.Results: There were 1,395 medical students who responded to the questionnaires. Mean T-PSS-10 score was 17.8. Most of the sources of stress were related to the changing of teaching and evaluation system. Students residing in larger medical schools were significantly more satisfied with received support and tended to gain greater support than those in medium and small sized schools. Stress-relieving activities arrangement was considered the most sought after additional support by students.Conclusion: Medical student stress levels were higher during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic levels. Stress relieving activities, availability and access to mental health resources, and other strategies to reduce stress among medical students are urgently needed.

Objective: To ascertain any relationship between coping strategies, sexual orientation and gender diversity in regard to high school students in Bangkok, and to examine coping strategies among sexual and gender minority youths. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional survey included 600 students across Bangkok, Thailand. Participants completed an online questionnaire, consisting of demographic data and the Adolescent Coping Scale (Thai version). Descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used for data analysis (p-value≤0.05). Results: The participants included 301 males (50.2%), and 299 females (49.8%), with a mean age of 16.6. The sample identified as 83.7% cisgender, 16.3% non-cisgender (transgender, non-conforming, questioning/unspecified, and others), 64.8% heterosexual, and 35.2% non-heterosexual (homosexual, bisexual, asexual, pansexual, questioning/unspecified, and others). Females used more non-productive coping strategies than males (p-value=0.001), non-cisgender youths used more non-productive coping than cisgender youths (p-value<0.001), and non-heterosexual youths used more non-productive coping than heterosexual youth (p-value<0.001). Coping strategies mostly used by sexual and gender minority male youths were worrying, ignoring the problem, and wishful thinking, while coping strategies most used by sexual and gender minority female youths were worrying, not coping, and keeping to one’s self. Conclusion: Differences in regards to the sex assigned at birth, gender identity, and sexual orientation had a statistically significant correlation with different coping strategies, specifically in sexual and gender minority youths who used nonproductive coping strategies.

Background: Being married is related to better physical and mental health compared to being single or in an unmarried relationship. For those in long-distance relationship (LDR), there are mixed findings in psychological and physical health outcomes when compared to individuals in proximal relationship (PR). Objective: To explore the health differences between those in LDRs and PRs in a larger and non-Western sample with more health behaviors than had been previously assessed. Materials and Methods: The present study analyzed the data from the East Asian Social Survey (EASS) comparing health variables and health habits between LDR and PR participants. There were 7,145 respondents including 2,750 in LDR and 4,395 in PR. Physical and mental health were measured using SF-12 version 2, while, the frequency of smoking, drinking alcohol, and engaging in physical activity were used to assess health habits. Univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to control the confounding effect. Results: The results suggested that PR participants reported better overall mental health, while those in LDRs were healthier in terms of less alcohol use. The overall physical health did not differ across the groups. Moreover, the present study uncovered an unexpected number of LDR couples in China compared to the other countries assessed. Conclusion: The present study provided further understanding of the connection between LDR and health in a large sample across the countries. Keywords: Health status, Health behavior, Marital relationship, Marital status, Long-distance relationship

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