Does medical school cause health anxiety and worry in medical students?

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the self-reported experience of health anxiety and worry in medical students compared with control subjects. It was hypothesised that medical students would experience more health anxiety as a consequence of being exposed to medical education, compared to students who are not routinely exposed to such knowledge. The design was cross-sectional. Participants were recruited from London University (Guy's, King's & St Thomas' School of Medicine and King's College). Medical students (n = 449) and non-medical students (n = 485) were recruited across Years 1-4. Questionnaires relating to health anxiety and worry were completed at the end of their lectures. Health anxiety was measured using a questionnaire known as the Health Anxiety Questionnaire (HAQ). Worry was assessed using the Anxious Thoughts Inventory (ANTI). Health anxiety was significantly lower in medical students in Years 1 and 4 than in controls (P = 0.017 and P < 0.001, respectively). Worry was significantly lower in the medical students in all years of study. Medical students are not a cohort of preselected health-anxious people, nor are they 'worriers'. Medical education at a clinical level was shown to mitigate health anxiety in the medical student population.