Health-Related Anxiety and Hypochondriacal Concerns in Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study From Pakistan

Abstract

In total, 513 medical students (66% female) participated. Their mean age was 21 ± 1.6 years. Three hundred seventy-five students (73%) reported having visited a doctor at least once in the past 6 months. Fifty students (9.9%) admitted to having addictions. The overall prevalence of significant hypochondriacal concerns was 11.9% (61 students). The presence of addiction was associated with a greater likelihood of developing significant health-related anxiety (odds ratio = 3.82, p = .003), 95% confidence interval [1.51, 7.11]. Age, gender, medical school, year of medical school, and visits to the doctor in the previous 6 months were not associated with greater likelihood of developing significant health-related anxiety. Second-year medical students experienced a significantly greater degree of worry (MSD-Distress scale) than 5th-year students (M score = 12.6 ± 4.6 vs. 10.7 ± 4.4, p = .04). Insights: The prevalence of substantial hypochondriacal concerns in medical students in Pakistan was low in comparison to similar studies published in literature. Student health physicians should be aware of the true prevalence of hypochondriacal concerns and behavior and not dismiss legitimate complaints. Educational sessions to counteract this phenomenon can be incorporated into the curriculum of undergraduate medicine. By defining heightened awareness of symptoms as a normal process, different coping techniques can be discussed to help medical students reduce their level of stress.

Prevalence of hypochondriac symptoms among health science students in China: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…As the public was only beginning to recognize this problem among health science students at that time, these early studies may have yielded exaggerated results by paying excessive attention to the phenomenon and using more liberal diagnostic criteria to attract more consideration. Zahid [29], by contrast, determined that only 11.9% of health science students met the criteria for hypochondriasis, which is low compared to the estimates of our review and previous reports. All available studies reported a higher prevalence of hypochondriasis among health science students than among the general population, where the approximate prevalence is 5.7% [23]; this indicates that hypochondriasis is a noteworthy issue among health science students.…”

“…Although numerous studies have shown that health science students have more easy access to medical resources and do not avoid seeking medical care when suffering pain or potential dysfunction [9,26], some researchers have found that they do not seek reassurance more frequently than non-health-science students [4,6,27]. Their perceptions of the medical profession [28] and the time required to receive medical services [29] influence students’ healthcare-seeking behaviors. With these findings in mind, whether health science students seek medical services when they have hypochondriac symptoms remains unclear, and it is worthwhile to explore what contributes to the inconsistency.…”

Illness anxiety disorder and perception of disease and distress among medical students in western Saudi Arabia

“…6 Medical students are more likely to develop illness anxiety disorder because of their increased probability to link symptoms and signs of serious medical conditions they are studying with their body sensations or other minor symptoms. [7][8][9] This has been attributed to the combined effect of intensive exposure to medical and clinical knowledge and the psychological pressure caused by the study load. These factors are thought to affect symptom detection and interpretation.…”

Medical Students’ Syndrome: A Cross Sectional Study from South East of Iran

“…Limited studies in the Eastern Mediterranean region revealed that the prevalence of the disorder varies from 11.9% to 16%. (6,7). The present study aimed to investigate the frequency and related factors of medical students' syndrome among medical students in Kerman University of medical sciences (KMU), Kerman province, Iran.…”