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Regli J, Sadeghi-Bahmani D, Rigotti V, Stanga Z, Ülgür II, Fichter C, Lang UE, Brühl AB, Brand S. Psychiatric Characteristics, Symptoms of Insomnia and Depression, Emotion Regulation, and Social Activity among Swiss Medical Students. J Clin Med 2024; 13:4372. [PMID: 39124639 PMCID: PMC11313248 DOI: 10.3390/jcm13154372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2024] [Revised: 07/19/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Background: Almost by default, young adult students are at increased risk of suffering from mental health issues, and this holds particularly true for medical students. Indeed, compared to the general population and non-medical students, medical students report higher scores for symptoms of depression. For Swiss medical students, research on the associations between psychiatric characteristics and symptoms of depression and insomnia, including cognitive-emotional processes and social activity, has been lacking so far. Given this, the aims of the present study were to relate self-declared psychiatric characteristics to symptoms of depression, insomnia, emotion regulation, and social activity. Methods: A total of 575 medical students (mean age: 22.4 years; 68.9% females) completed an online survey covering sociodemographic information (age and gender), study context (year of study), self-declared psychiatric characteristics and symptoms of depression, insomnia, emotion regulation (cognitive reappraisal vs. emotion suppression), and social activity. Data on insomnia sum scores and categories of historical samples (862 non-medical students and 533 police and emergency response service officers) were used for comparison. Results: Of the 575 participants, 190 participants (33%) self-declared psychiatric issues, such as major depressive disorder; anxiety disorders, including PTSD and adjustment disorders; eating disorders; ADHD; or a combination of such psychiatric issues. Self-reporting a psychiatric issue was related to higher symptoms of depression and insomnia and lower symptoms of social activity and cognitive reappraisal (always with significant p-values and medium effect sizes). Compared to historical data for non-medical students and police and emergency response service officers, medical students reported higher insomnia scores. In a regression model, current self-declared psychiatric issues, female gender, higher scores for insomnia, and lower scores for social activity were associated with higher scores for depression. Conclusions: Among a sample of Swiss medical students, the occurrence of self-declared psychiatric issues was associated with higher scores for depression and insomnia and lower cognitive reappraisal and social activity. Further, insomnia scores and insomnia categories were higher when compared to non-medical students and to police and emergency response service officers. The data suggest that medical schools might introduce specifically tailored intervention and support programs to mitigate medical students' mental health issues. This holds particularly true for insomnia, as standardized and online-delivered treatment programs for insomnia (eCBTi) are available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Regli
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Basel, 4001 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Dena Sadeghi-Bahmani
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA;
- Department of Epidemiology & Population Health, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Viola Rigotti
- Outpatient Medical Clinic, University Hospital of Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland;
| | - Zeno Stanga
- Centre of Competence for Military and Disaster Medicine, Swiss Armed Forces, 3008 Bern, Switzerland; (Z.S.); (I.I.Ü.)
- Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, Nutritional Medicine and Metabolism, University Hospital, University of Berne, 3012 Berne, Switzerland
| | - Ismail I. Ülgür
- Centre of Competence for Military and Disaster Medicine, Swiss Armed Forces, 3008 Bern, Switzerland; (Z.S.); (I.I.Ü.)
| | - Christian Fichter
- Department of Psychology, Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland;
| | - Undine E. Lang
- Adult Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, 4002 Basel, Switzerland;
| | - Annette B. Brühl
- Center for Affective, Stress and Sleep Disturbances, Psychiatric Clinics of the University of Basel, 4002 Basel, Switzerland;
| | - Serge Brand
- Center for Affective, Stress and Sleep Disturbances, Psychiatric Clinics of the University of Basel, 4002 Basel, Switzerland;
- Division of Sport Science and Psychosocial Health, Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Basel, 4052 Basel, Switzerland
- Sleep Disorders Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah 6719851115, Iran
- Substance Abuse Prevention Research Center, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah 6719851115, Iran
- School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1417653761, Iran
- Center for Disaster Psychiatry and Disaster Psychology, Psychiatric Clinics of the University of Basel, 4002 Basel, Switzerland
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Garcia MC, Paravidino VB, Lopes CDS, Mediano MFF, Gonçalves TR, de Oliveira AJ, Sichieri R. Sleep duration and quality during the COVID-19 pandemic and the association with physical activity and screen time among Brazilian college students. Am J Hum Biol 2024; 36:e24035. [PMID: 38174842 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.24035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND As a result of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in sleep patterns have been observed in many countries, as well as changes in physical activity and screen time. The objective was to investigate sleep duration and quality during the COVID-19 pandemic and its association with physical activity and screen time. METHODS Cross-sectional study with students from a University in Rio de Janeiro who answered an online questionnaire between August 2020 and March 2021. Physical activity was assessed using IPAQ-SF. Sleep was investigated based on questions about duration and sleep quality change, and screen time through self-reported questions. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to assess the association between physical activity and screen time with sleep duration and quality. Secondary analyses investigated the influence of the isolation time on this association. The confounding factors used were diagnosis of COVID-19, time of isolation, anxiety, depression, skin color, and gender. RESULTS A total of 771 college students with a mean age of 24.5 years (±8.6) answered the questionnaire. About 75% reported more than 8 h of screen time per day and 49.8% were physically inactive. Regarding sleep, 54.9% had worsening sleep, while 40.6% had inadequate sleep duration during the pandemic. Physical activity was associated with improved sleep quality (Odds ratio (OR) 1.72; confidence interval (95% CI) 1.05-2.97). Also, physically active students who spent more than 14 weeks in social isolation demonstrated improved sleep quality (OR 1.99; 95% CI 1.02-3.78) compared to physically inactive individuals. No association was observed for sleep duration. No association was observed between screen time and sleep quality, or sleep duration. CONCLUSION During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was considerable worsening of sleep quality, and physical activity was positively associated with improved sleep quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magno Conceição Garcia
- Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Social Medicine Hésio Cordeiro, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Vitor Barreto Paravidino
- Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Social Medicine Hésio Cordeiro, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Department of Physical Education and Sports, Naval School, Brazilian Navy, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Claudia de Souza Lopes
- Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Social Medicine Hésio Cordeiro, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Tatiana Rehder Gonçalves
- Institute of Public Health Studies, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Aldair José de Oliveira
- Department of Physical Education and Sports, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica, Brazil
| | - Rosely Sichieri
- Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Social Medicine Hésio Cordeiro, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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