Mental Health Status of Medical Students

El‐Gilany, Abdel‐Hady; Amro, Mostafa; Eladawi, Noha; Khalil, Mohamed

doi:10.1097/nmd.0000000000000970

Cited by 12 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…On the other hand, OCD can adversely affect academic performance, general well-being, social interaction, and suicidal thoughts. Issues that might have a huge impact on life unless being diagnosed early and properly managed [ 4 , 6 , 11 , 12 , 17 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) among Iraqi undergraduate medical students in time of COVID-19 pandemic

Taher

Alfadhul

Abutiheen

et al. 2021

Middle East Curr Psychiatry

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Background Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common mental disorder affecting millions of people. Its onset and peak are during late teens making university students a priority target. Medical student perhaps is at greater risk for developing OCD while corona COVID-19 is expected to more exaggerate symptoms mainly with extra hygiene and cleanliness practices. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of OCD symptoms among Iraqi medical students, and to assess the associated psychological symptoms and its correlates. An analytic cross-sectional study was conducted among Iraqi medical students during the period from August to October 2020. An online anonymous, voluntary, and self-administered questionnaire based on the 18 questions Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised scale (OCI-R) was used to collect the data. Results A total of 1644 students had filled the questionnaire. Females were 1116 (67.9%), while 1153 (70.1%) had reported accompanying mental symptoms. Of which worry and stress were the most prevalent with 674 (25.9%) and 617 (23.7%) respectively. However, 707 (43%) have probable OCD symptoms that need further assessment. Unpleasant thoughts were the most prevalent symptoms with 51.8%. Surprisingly, the washing and contamination scales were low at 14% and 19.4% while repeating certain numbers was the least with 8%. OCD symptoms were significantly related to younger age and earlier years of study. Further, all accompanied mental symptoms were significantly associated with probable OCD status. Conclusion High prevalence of OCD among medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. No association of OCD with gender and family history. Younger students and early years of study were more likely to suffer from OCD symptoms.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) among Iraqi undergraduate medical students in time of COVID-19 pandemic

Taher

Alfadhul

Abutiheen

et al. 2021

Middle East Curr Psychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…A recent online study [ 21 ], including N = 185 university students studying in Germany found that 36.6% of the university students (women and men) report experiencing depressive symptoms, 41.83% (women and men) reported experiencing high levels of state anxiety, and all students reported experiencing stress due to excessive demands and uncertainty in finances, job, or social relationships. These prevalence rates have actually been found in cohort studies including university students all over the globe, irrespective of culture before the outbreak of the pandemic [ 17 – 22 , 50 – 53 ]. In relation to these pre-pandemic prevalence rates, the prevalence of state anxiety and of depressive symptoms in the current sample seem to have more than doubled during the pandemic time period.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…Regarding pandemic risk groups, previous cross-cultural pre-pandemic surveys have shown high prevalence rates of anxiety and depression among university students across countries [ 17 – 22 , 50 – 53 ]. Therefore, the WHO’s concerns about the psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and well-being might affect university students as a population group as well.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, in total, 51.82% and 19.09% of the final student sample (n = 220) reported depressive symptoms at and above the cut off score for depressive symptoms [ 38 ], thus feeling depressed or hopeless and reporting a loss of interest and pleasure in the items of the PHQ-2 questionnaire during most of the days of the last 2 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prevalence rates from previous surveys among university students reported a prevalence of anxiety symptoms or depressive symptoms above 35% among university students before the pandemic (e.g., for depression or anxiety [ 17 – 22 , 50 – 53 ]). A recent online study [ 21 ], including N = 185 university students studying in Germany found that 36.6% of the university students (women and men) report experiencing depressive symptoms, 41.83% (women and men) reported experiencing high levels of state anxiety, and all students reported experiencing stress due to excessive demands and uncertainty in finances, job, or social relationships.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a recent online study including N = 185 university students studying in Germany, 36.6% of the students (women and men) reported to experience depressive symptoms, 41.83% (women and men) reported high levels of state anxiety, and mental stress due to excessive demands and uncertainty in finances, job, or social relationships [ 21 ]. This prevalence of academic stress and mental health burdens have been found among university students all over the globe [ 17 – 20 ], including Egypt [ 22 , 23 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How do you feel during the COVID-19 pandemic? A survey using psychological and linguistic self-report measures, and machine learning to investigate mental health, subjective experience, personality, and behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic among university students

2021

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Background The WHO has raised concerns about the psychological consequences of the current COVID-19 pandemic, negatively affecting health across societies, cultures and age-groups. Methods This online survey study investigated mental health, subjective experience, and behaviour (health, learning/teaching) among university students studying in Egypt or Germany shortly after the first pandemic lockdown in May 2020. Psychological assessment included stable personality traits, self-concept and state-like psychological variables related to (a) mental health (depression, anxiety), (b) pandemic threat perception (feelings during the pandemic, perceived difficulties in describing, identifying, expressing emotions), (c) health (e.g., worries about health, bodily symptoms) and behaviour including perceived difficulties in learning. Assessment methods comprised self-report questions, standardized psychological scales, psychological questionnaires, and linguistic self-report measures. Data analysis comprised descriptive analysis of mental health, linguistic analysis of self-concept, personality and feelings, as well as correlational analysis and machine learning. N = 220 (107 women, 112 men, 1 = other) studying in Egypt or Germany provided answers to all psychological questionnaires and survey items. Results Mean state and trait anxiety scores were significantly above the cut off scores that distinguish between high versus low anxious subjects. Depressive symptoms were reported by 51.82% of the student sample, the mean score was significantly above the screening cut off score for risk of depression. Worries about health (mental and physical health) and perceived difficulties in identifying feelings, and difficulties in learning behaviour relative to before the pandemic were also significant. No negative self-concept was found in the linguistic descriptions of the participants, whereas linguistic descriptions of feelings during the pandemic revealed a negativity bias in emotion perception. Machine learning (exploratory) predicted personality from the self-report data suggesting relations between personality and subjective experience that were not captured by descriptive or correlative data analytics alone. Conclusion Despite small sample sizes, this multimethod survey provides important insight into mental health of university students studying in Egypt or Germany and how they perceived the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in May 2020. The results should be continued with larger samples to help develop psychological interventions that support university students across countries and cultures to stay psychologically resilient during the pandemic.

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Prevalence, characteristics and measurement of somatic symptoms related to mental health in medical students: a scoping review

Hulett

Sherwin

et al. 2023

Annals of Medicine

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Introduction Somatic symptoms related to mental health in medical students are under-researched, with nothing on the topic being published in the United States in over three decades. This scoping review is the first of its kind to explore the prevalence, type and severity of somatic symptoms induced by stress, anxiety, depression and burnout amongst medical students, with the objective of describing the significance and breadth of this issue. Methods PRISMA-ScR guidelines were used to guide this review. A comprehensive search was performed of 22 databases, followed by bibliographic and hand searching. Inclusion criteria were published, peer-reviewed articles with a sample of medical students and at least one measure of somatic symptoms related to mental health, in English or with an English-language translation. Excluded were review, companion and editorial articles. Coding was done by an experienced coder trained in systematic review techniques. Two authors reviewed each article. Results Twenty-nine articles met inclusion criteria, representing 16 countries, 31 schools/teaching hospitals and 9,887 medical students. The prevalence of somatic symptoms ranged from 5.7 to 80.1%, and somatic symptoms were overwhelmingly found to be significantly correlated with mental ill-health. Somatic symptoms included back pain, neck pain, headaches, sleep disturbances and functional gastrointestinal disorders. Eleven different outcome measures were used, with varying degrees of validity and reliability, which were compared and assessed. Conclusions Somatic symptoms appear strongly correlated with mental ill-health in medical students, and are likely highly prevalent. This review highlights the need for further research on somatic symptoms of mental ill-health in medical students, particularly in the United States, and the addition of larger, multi-institutional cohorts to expand our understanding of prevalence, incidence and inciting factors of somatic symptoms. Longitudinal studies tracking somatic symptoms’ effect on career trajectory and professional burnout levels are also needed. Finally, future research should explore interventions for reducing physical symptom burden in medical students.

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Mental Health Status of Medical Students

Cited by 12 publications

References 31 publications

Prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) among Iraqi undergraduate medical students in time of COVID-19 pandemic

Prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) among Iraqi undergraduate medical students in time of COVID-19 pandemic

How do you feel during the COVID-19 pandemic? A survey using psychological and linguistic self-report measures, and machine learning to investigate mental health, subjective experience, personality, and behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic among university students

Prevalence, characteristics and measurement of somatic symptoms related to mental health in medical students: a scoping review

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