General health of students of medical sciences and its relation to sleep quality, cell phone overuse, social networks and internet addiction

Rasool Kawyannejad,Behzad Hemmatpour,Mojgan Safaeepour,Ebrahim Ezzati,Maryam Mirzaei,Ali Valinejadi,Hasan Ali Karimpour,Saeed Mohammadi,Javad Aminisaman,Siavash Vaziri

doi:10.1186/s13030-019-0150-7

Rasool Kawyannejad, Behzad Hemmatpour + Show 8 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13030-019-0150-7

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Abstract

BackgroundIn recent years, the phenomena of access to the cell phone and addiction to the Internet have been developed among students due to their many applications and attractiveness. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of evaluating general health status and also determining the predictive role of variables such as cell phone usage, sleep quality, internet addiction and social networks addiction in students.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted on 321 students of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences in an analytical approach. Data collection tools were: Goldberg’s General Health Questionnaire, Pittburgh Sleep Quality Index, Young Internet Addiction Test, Social Network Addiction Questionnaire, and Cell Phone Overuse Scale. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 21 and general linear model.ResultsBased on the results, the mean (SD) score of the general health was 21.27 (9.49). Variables of gender, sleep quality, and levels of cell phone usage were independent predictors of student’s health. Male students (β (95% CI) = − 0.28 (− 0.49 to − 0.01) and students with favorable sleep quality (β (95% CI) = − 0.22 (− 0.44 to − 0.02) had lower total health score than the reference category (female students and students with unfavorable sleep quality, respectively). In addition, students with cell phone overuse (β (95% CI) = 0.39 (0.08 to 0.69) had a higher general health score than the reference category (students with cell phone little use).In general, this group of students had lower general health status (Low or high scores of general health indicate a higher and lower general health status for subjects, respectively).ConclusionVariables of gender, sleep quality and cell phone use were the most important variables associating the general health of medical students.

Highlights

In recent years, the phenomena of access to the cell phone and addiction to the Internet have been developed among students due to their many applications and attractiveness
The highest scores of general health were seen in students who had cell phone overuse and addiction to the Internet and social networks, as well as in the female students
Findings of the present study showed no significant relationship between age, levels of Internet and social networks addiction and the general health score

Summary

Introduction

The phenomena of access to the cell phone and addiction to the Internet have been developed among students due to their many applications and attractiveness. Technology and its daily communication are among the most influential factors on health [3, 7]; On the other hand, in recent years, the phenomenon of access and addiction to the Internet and social networks has been developed among students due to its various applications and attractiveness [7]. Since educational environments such as universities are the places of Internet addiction development, by cell phone overuse and spending lots of time on the Internet students can be exposed to abnormal patterns of sleep, lifestyle changes and weak academic performance [8, 9]. Other studies have reported a significant positive correlation between general health dimensions and cell phone overuse in students; besides, the disturbance of students’ sleeping patterns due to cell phone overuse, as well as psychological demands and pressures of academic environments were common among students [12,13,14]

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Conclusion