College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Nigeria.
College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Afr Health Sci. 2022 Mar;22(1):541-550. doi: 10.4314/ahs.v22i1.63.
The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic as a large scale stressor could have negative effects on the mental health of medical students. Since gender differences in mental health may exist, it is important to see if a large scale stressor like the pandemic may be associated with variances in the psychological distress between both genders.
To assess and compare the psychological distress of male and female medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 1010 medical students from three universities in southwestern Nigeria within the first six months of the first reported case of the COVID-19 pandemic. The respondents were purposively selected. Data was obtained online on participants' demographic and psychological distress using the General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12). Data was analyzed using the SPSS version 21, student t and chi-square tests were used to assess gender differences, and multivariate regression to assess the predictors of psychological distress among both genders. p values less than 0.05were considered statistically significant.
Overall, female participants (OR=1.455, 95% CI= 1.095-1.936) were twice more likely to have experienced psychological distress than males during the COVID-19 pandemic. Age (OR=0.922, 95% CI= 0.867-0.979), being in pre-clinical years (OR= 1.394, 95% CI= 1.004-1.938), having a family income less than 100,000 naira (OR= 1.379, 95% CI=1.442-6.723) a previous history of mental illness (OR=3.077, 95% CI= 1.430-6.615) and having a relative/acquaintance diagnosed with COVID 19(OR=1.646, 95% CI= 1.062-2.551) were independently associated with psychological distress among the respondents. When comparing both genders, among females, age (OR=0.886, 95% CI= 0.803-0.978), family income less than 100,000 naira (OR=1.898, 95% CI= 1.306-2.759) and a previous history of mental illness (OR=5.266, 95% CI= 1.894-14.635) were associated with psychological distress, while, being in pre-clinical years (OR= 1.713, 95% CI= 1.052-2.790) was associated with psychological distress among males.
Females had more psychological distress compared to male students. It is recommended that gender-specific interventions addressing psychological distress among medical students are instituted.
冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行作为一个大规模压力源，可能对医学生的心理健康产生负面影响。由于心理健康方面可能存在性别差异，因此重要的是要了解像大流行这样的大规模压力源是否与两性之间的心理困扰存在差异。
评估和比较 COVID-19 大流行期间男女医学生的心理困扰。
在 COVID-19 首例报告后的头六个月内，在尼日利亚西南部的三所大学中对 1010 名医学生进行了横断面调查。采用方便抽样法选择研究对象。通过一般健康问卷 12（GHQ-12）在线获取参与者的人口统计学和心理困扰数据。使用 SPSS 版本 21 进行数据分析，采用学生 t 检验和卡方检验评估性别差异，采用多元回归评估两性心理困扰的预测因素。p 值小于 0.05 被认为具有统计学意义。
总体而言，与男性相比，女性（OR=1.455，95%CI=1.095-1.936）在 COVID-19 大流行期间经历心理困扰的可能性高两倍。年龄（OR=0.922，95%CI=0.867-0.979）、处于临床前阶段（OR=1.394，95%CI=1.004-1.938）、家庭收入低于 100,000 奈拉（OR=1.379，95%CI=1.442-6.723）、有精神病史（OR=3.077，95%CI=1.430-6.615）和有亲属/熟人被诊断为 COVID-19（OR=1.646，95%CI=1.062-2.551）与受访者的心理困扰独立相关。在比较两性时，在女性中，年龄（OR=0.886，95%CI=0.803-0.978）、家庭收入低于 100,000 奈拉（OR=1.898，95%CI=1.306-2.759）和有精神病史（OR=5.266，95%CI=1.894-14.635）与心理困扰相关，而处于临床前阶段（OR=1.713，95%CI=1.052-2.790）与男性的心理困扰相关。
与男性学生相比，女性学生的心理困扰更多。建议针对医学生的心理困扰制定特定性别的干预措施。
