Increased mental stress among undergraduate medical students in south-western Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic

Nabil J Awadalla; Abdullah A Alsabaani; Mohammed A Alsaleem; Safar A Alsaleem; Ayoub A Alshaikh; Suliman H Al-Fifi; Ahmed A Mahfouz

doi:10.7717/peerj.13900

Increased mental stress among undergraduate medical students in south-western Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic

PeerJ. 2022 Aug 15:10:e13900. doi: 10.7717/peerj.13900. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Nabil J Awadalla^{1

2}, Abdullah A Alsabaani¹, Mohammed A Alsaleem¹, Safar A Alsaleem¹, Ayoub A Alshaikh¹, Suliman H Al-Fifi³, Ahmed A Mahfouz^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Aseer, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
³ Department of Child Health, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Aseer, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Epidemiology, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the daily life and academic trajectory of many students. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of the pandemic on perceived stress levels among medical students.

Methods: Comparative pre-pandemic and pandemic surveys were conducted among samples of undergraduate medical students. Students responded to a questionnaire including personal and academic data, and Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).

Results: Overall, the prevalence of high perceived stress during the pandemic (20.6%) was significantly higher (p = 0.001) than pre-pandemic (11.6%). A multivariable analysis revealed that the independent factors associated with high perceived stress were: participation in the study during the pandemic (aOR = 1.79, 95% CI: 1.22-2.63), female sex (aOR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.23-2.47), younger age (aOR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.04-2.55) and lower family income (aOR = 1.50, 95% CI: 1.12-2.03). PSS score was negatively correlated with increasing age, family income, and academic level. PSS score was positively correlated with: worries about the possible disruption of education or exams, excessive news exposure, worries about the possibility of COVID-19 infection, and the effects of mandatory isolation and social distancing.

Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic increased the level of stress among medical students. Female students, younger students, and those in lower academic grades are the most at risk of having high stress. Worries about possible academic disruptions due to the pandemic are significant stressors. The implementation of online stress management programs is recommended.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; Medical students; Perceived stress; Stressors.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / epidemiology
Female
Humans
Pandemics
Saudi Arabia / epidemiology
Stress, Psychological / epidemiology
Students, Medical*

Grants and funding

This work was funded by the Institute of Research and Consulting Studies at King Khalid University (grant number # 4-N-20/21). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.