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Abstract
BackgroundStress and distress among medical students are thoroughly studied and presumed to be particularly high, but comparative studies including other student groups are rare.MethodsA web-based survey was distributed to 500 medical students and 500 business students. We compared levels of study stress (HESI), burnout (OLBI), alcohol habits (AUDIT) and depression (MDI), and analysed their relationship with self-assessed mental health problems by logistic regression, with respect to gender.ResultsMedical students' response rate was 81.6% and that of business students 69.4%. Business students scored higher on several study stress factors and on disengagement. Depression (OR 0.61, CI95 0.37;0.98) and harmful alcohol use (OR 0.55, CI95 0.37; 0.75) were both less common among medical students. However, harmful alcohol use was highly prevalent among male students in both groups (medical students 28.0%, business students 35.4%), and among female business students (25.0%). Mental health problems in need of treatment were equally common in both groups; 22.1% and 19.3%, respectively, and was associated with female sex (OR 2.01, CI95 1.32;3.04), exhaustion (OR 2.56, CI95 1.60;4.10), lower commitment to studies (OR 1.95, CI95 1.09;3.51) and financial concerns (OR 1.81 CI95 1.18;2.80)ConclusionsMedical students may not be more stressed than other high achieving student populations. The more cohesive structure of medical school and a higher awareness of a healthy lifestyle may be beneficial factors.
Highlights
Stress and distress among medical students are thoroughly studied and presumed to be high, but comparative studies including other student groups are rare
Medical students more commonly lived with a partner and had children than business students
This study showed that the business students perceived more study stress and were more disengaged from their studies than the medical students
Summary
Stress and distress among medical students are thoroughly studied and presumed to be high, but comparative studies including other student groups are rare. Medical students are thoroughly investigated with regard to stress and mental health, and often suggested to be especially subject to stress and depression [1,2,3]. Along with these findings, it has been argued that medical education is stressful, and that medical students carry certain personality traits such as perfectionism or performance-based self-esteem, that make them vulnerable to mental distress [4,5]. From Sweden and Turkey respectively, have reported higher levels of distress among medical students compared to other university student populations [6,12]
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