Background: The learning performance and overall health of students might be impacted by excessive academic stress. While the right amount of stress can help improve learning and performance, too much stress can harm one's mental and physical health as well as academic performance. This research aims to assess the prevalence and use of the beta-blocker propranolol among healthcare students in Saudi Arabia.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare students at Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The participants were sent an electronic questionnaire at random over three months, from June 10 to September 10, 2023. The data were analyzed using RStudio (version 4.2.2), and the categorized data were presented in frequencies and percentages. Fisher's exact test was used to determine the factors associated with propranolol use. The results were reported as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). A p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: The study comprised 582 participants, of whom (51.7%, n=301) fell within the age range of 24 to 26 years, (63.1%, n=367) were male, and (59.3%, n=345) were enrolled in the College of Medicine and Surgery. The majority of respondents (73.7%, n=28) reported that educational materials such as medical books were their primary source of information regarding the impact of beta-blockers on anxiety. Among those who used propranolol, over two-thirds (68.4%, n=26) had taken it before the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). About a quarter of the participants (26.1%, n=151) believed that propranolol was being misused by healthcare students, and (21.3%, n=123) believed that the drug could enhance academic performance.
Conclusion: The primary motives for taking propranolol were to alleviate anxiety before OSCEs and enhance performance during presentations. The participants showed some understanding of the impact of propranolol. Nevertheless, it is imperative to impart knowledge to them about the potential hazards linked to the misuse of beta-blockers.
Keywords: academic anxiety; healthcare student; propranolol; saudi arabia; umm al-qura university.
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