Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
Department of Psychiatry, Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
Front Public Health. 2021 Nov 19;9:775374. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.775374. eCollection 2021.
Medical students have been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic due to their educational program, which comprises theoretical knowledge and also clinical duties, making them vulnerable to viral exposures and possibly affecting their everyday life. The aim of this study was to explore changes in sleep and mental health parameters among medical students in Greece during the second year of the pandemic. This cross-sectional study comprised students of all medical schools in Greece ( = 7), using an anonymous online survey. Participants completed the following questionnaires: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Statistical analysis was conducted with the use of SPSS v.26 (IBM SPSS, Armonk NY, USA). Out of the 562 received responses, 559 met the inclusion criteria. The largest proportion of the respondents came from 4th-year (27.8%) and the majority of the sample were females (69.8%). Only 5.9% of the participants reported having been infected by SARS-COV-2. Most of the respondents experienced insomnia (65.9%, mean AIS score: 7.59 ± 4.24), poor sleep quality (52.4%, mean PSQI score: 6.6 ± 3.25) and increased fatigue (48.5%, mean 35.82 ± 11.74). Moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety (mean 9.04 ± 5.66) and depression (mean 9.36 ± 6.15) were noted. Suicidal ideation was found in 16.7% of the sample, while use of sleeping pills in the previous month was reported by 8.8% ( = 47). Further analysis revealed independent associations between sleep and mental health parameters. Higher AIS score was associated with greater FSS score; higher PSQI scores with higher GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores. Additionally, female students were found to be significantly more affected than males by the COVID-19 pandemic, displaying higher levels of insomnia, sleep disturbances, anxiety and depression. In addition, those with a history of COVID-19 infection or in close proximity with a positive case reported significantly more significant post-traumatic symptoms in IES-COVID-19 questionnaire. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, prevalence of sleep and mental health disorders among Greek medical students is significant, highlighting the need for better surveillance of students' wellbeing and subsequent counseling, with special focus on female students and other affected groups.
医学生的教育计划包括理论知识和临床职责，使他们容易受到病毒暴露的影响，并可能影响他们的日常生活，因此受到 COVID-19 大流行的严重影响。本研究旨在探讨希腊医学生在大流行第二年睡眠和心理健康参数的变化。这项横断面研究包括希腊所有医学院的学生（n=7），使用匿名在线调查。参与者完成了以下问卷：匹兹堡睡眠质量指数（PSQI）、雅典失眠量表（AIS）、疲劳严重程度量表（FSS）、广泛性焦虑障碍 7 项量表（GAD-7）、患者健康问卷 9 项量表（PHQ-9）。使用 SPSS v.26（IBM SPSS，Armonk NY，USA）进行统计分析。在收到的 562 份回复中，有 559 份符合纳入标准。回答者中比例最大的是四年级（27.8%），大多数样本是女性（69.8%）。只有 5.9%的参与者报告曾感染过 SARS-COV-2。大多数受访者经历失眠（65.9%，平均 AIS 评分：7.59±4.24）、睡眠质量差（52.4%，平均 PSQI 评分：6.6±3.25）和疲劳增加（48.5%，平均 35.82±11.74）。中度至重度焦虑症状（平均 9.04±5.66）和抑郁症状（平均 9.36±6.15）被发现。在样本中，16.7%的人有自杀念头，而 8.8%（n=47）的人在过去一个月使用过安眠药。进一步的分析显示，睡眠和心理健康参数之间存在独立的关联。AIS 评分越高，FSS 评分越高；PSQI 评分越高，GAD-7 和 PHQ-9 评分越高。此外，与男性相比，女性学生受 COVID-19 大流行的影响更为显著，表现为失眠、睡眠障碍、焦虑和抑郁程度更高。此外，那些有 COVID-19 感染史或与阳性病例密切接触的人，在 IES-COVID-19 问卷中报告的创伤后症状明显更多。在 COVID-19 大流行之后，希腊医学生的睡眠和心理健康障碍的发生率很高，这突出表明需要更好地监测学生的幸福感，并随后进行咨询，特别关注女学生和其他受影响群体。
