Stress among medical students in a college of medicine in Saudi Arabia: sex differences

Bloody stressed! A systematic review of the associations between adulthood psychological stress and menstrual cycle irregularity

Regular menstruation is a key indicator of general health and irregular menstrual parameters have been associated with elevated risk of adverse health outcomes. While psychological stress is believed to contribute to abnormal menstruation, little is known of the effects of discrete psychological stressors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, on menstrual function. A systematic database search was performed and studies investigating the relation between psychological stress and menstrual cycle irregularity in otherwise healthy adults were included. Two independent investigators completed abstract and full-text screening, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment. In the 41 included studies, a variety of stressors were assessed, namely COVID-19 pandemic stress, academic stress, and occupational stress. Our review found most studies report an association between psychological stress and menstrual dysfunction, with the most common disruptions being irregular menstruation and abnormal menstrual flow. Our findings also underlined notable discrepancies in the operational definitions used in the study of menstrual disorders. These observations emphasize the importance of psychological stress as a modifiable risk factor associated with irregular menstruation.

The Prevalence and Associated Factors of Academic Stress among Medical Students of King Khalid University: An Analytical Cross-Sectional Study

Medical students are the category of academic population with the highest levels of stress. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of academic stress among medical students in Saudi Arabia and to identify its associated factors. This cross-sectional study was conducted at the College of Medicine at King Khalid University, Abha. The Medical Student Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ) was used to evaluate the stress caused by different factors. A total of 422 medical students participated in this study. Among the participants, 115 (27.3%) were male and 307 (72.7%) were female. The highest percentage of students were perceiving moderate to severe stress due to academic-related stressors (97.1%), followed by teaching- and learning-related stressors (93.9%) and group activities-related stressors (88.3%). The lowest domain in which students perceived moderate to severe stress was drive and desire-related stressors (65.8%). The mean percentage of students who perceived moderate-to-severe stress in all domains of stressors was 85.5%. We can conclude that medical students have a high degree of stress, and we emphasize the importance of implementing stress management programs to teach students how to handle stress in order to avoid negative effects on their health and academic performance.

The relationship between stress, trait emotional intelligence and mental health amongst Gaza’s basic-year medical students during the COVID-19 outbreak

Background

This study investigates the relationship between exposure to stress, trait emotional intelligence (trait EI) and mental health problems (anxiety and depression symptoms) amongst basic-year medical students during COVID-19. The sample consists of 379 basic-year medical students. Off them, 160 (42.4%) were male and 218 (57.5%) were female. The following measures were used in the study: The Medical Student Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ), Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire—Short Form (TEIQue-ASF), The anxiety symptoms scale and the depression scale.

Results

The majority of students reported high to severe level ARS and mild to moderate DRS. Female students showed higher levels of ARS, TLRS, SRS, GARS and anxiety symptoms compared to male ones. Moreover, students with higher levels of academic performance reported lower levels of ARS and DRS, higher levels of trait EI and lower levels of anxiety and depression symptoms. In addition, trait EI has a significant negative association with anxiety and depression symptoms and stress domains (ARS, IRS, TLRS, SRS, DRS, GARS) and total stress. Finally, stress domains are positively correlated with anxiety and depression symptoms.

Conclusion

Basic-year medical students in the Gaza Strip are exposed to stressful events which aggravate the effect of exposure and cause higher levels of anxiety and depression symptoms.

Anxiety Level of University Students During COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia

COVID-19 is the worst pandemic of this millennium, and it is considered to be the "public enemy number one." This catastrophe has changed the way we live in the blink of an eye. Not only has it threatened our existence and health status, but the damage associated with it could equally affect our economic, social, and educational systems. The focus of this study was on the anxiety level of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted between March and June 2020. A questionnaire was administered online, and 400 completed questionnaires were returned. In this study, the Zung self-rating anxiety scale was used to determine the anxiety levels among the respondents. The results indicated that about 35% of the students experienced moderate to extreme levels of anxiety. Anxiety was highly associated with age, sex, and level of education. These findings can enlighten government agencies and policy makers on the importance of making prompt, effective decisions to address students' anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers are encouraged to focus their future studies on how to develop strategies to boost students' resilience and enhance their adaptability skills for similar disasters in the future.