Stress and its Correlates among Medical Students in Gambat Medical College

Background: The immense workload on undergraduate medical students may cause favorable or unfavorable stress, leading to positive or negative consequences. This study was designed to determine the frequency of stress, anxiety, and depression among the undergraduate students of Gambat Medical College.
Methodology: 300 students from various academic years, from the first to the final year of MBBS, were selected from Gambat Medical College, Khairpur, following inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Perceived Stress Scale Questionnaire-10 (PSSQ-10), a widely used tool for measuring perceived stress, was utilized to gather data. Stress levels were categorized as low (0-13), moderate (14-26), or high (27-40). Data Analysis was done using SPSS. Percentage, mean, and standard deviation of stress levels were calculated and compared across different academic years.
Results: Out of 300 MBBS students, 60 (20%) were from each year, that is, first, second, third, fourth, and final year. Females were 100 (33.33), and males were 200 (66.66). The demographic profile showed 4 (1.33%) students were married (all males). The average age of participants was 21.05 years. 109 (36.22%) students had low stress, 171 (56.9%) had moderate, and 20 (6.65%) had high stress. Overall 41.5% males and 25% females had low stress, 44.5% of males had moderate stress compared to 62% of females. High stress was observed in 3.5% of males compared to 13% of females, three times higher than in males. Significant variations were observed in the second year (p = 0.053), third year (p = 0.007), and fourth year (p = 0.055), implying that gender impacts stress levels during those academic years. Conversely, no significant distinctions were observed in the first and fifth years (p = 0.929 and 0.329, respectively).
Conclusion: The data analysis found that students from all academic years reported moderate stress levels. Female students reported considerably greater stress levels than male counterparts, with a pronounced difference (p =0.00066). These findings underscore the need for gender specific interventions to address stress among medical students, which could potentially improve their mental health and academic performance.

Educational achievements, stress in medical students, anxiety, mental health.