Abdellatif Mohamed Abdelfatah, Abdel Salam Heba A, Ali Hossam Tharwat, Hussein Salma Mohammed, Abdalla Ahmed Ali, Khorkhash Mohamed Khaled, Alsabbagh Feras Ammar, Elsayed Nesreen Kamel, Ibrahim Fatma Ahmed, Amer Samar A
Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt.
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt.
BMC Psychol. 2025 May 9;13(1):490. doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-02788-9.
Medical students commonly experience Medical Student Syndrome (MSS), a condition where they compare their vague symptoms to the medical problems and life-threatening diseases they are learning about in medical school, even though their health profile is free. Our research aims to investigate the symptoms of MSS (anxiety-related illness) and hypochondriasis, as well as their impact on the lives of students. Additionally, we aim to study various types of personalities and, finally, investigate the demographic determinants of MSS and their interactions with various personality types among medical students in Egypt in the period between September and December 2023.
This analytical cross-sectional study targeted 300 students recruited from the medical field at Zagazig University. The data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire, which consisted of four main components: demographic data, the MSS questionnaire, the personality-type questionnaire, and the MSS's impact. The collected data was coded and analyzed using R statistical software.
Out of the 300 medical field students recruited, 261 (87.0%) were Egyptian, 164 (54.67%) were female, and 216 (72.0%) were medical students without co-morbidity. 181 (60.33%) were aware of the MSS. Only 11 (3.67%) individuals met all criteria of the DSM-V for anxiety disorder, while 20 (6.67%) individuals met all criteria of the DSM-IV for hypochondriasis. The most common anxiety symptoms were difficulty sleeping (50.00%), lack of productivity or difficulty concentrating (44.0%), and rapid heart rate (31.67%). In terms of personality, being sympathetic and warm received the highest median of 6.00 while being critical and quarrelsome received the lowest median score of 2.00. The health anxiety score significantly negatively correlates with dependable and self-disciplined personality traits, while it significantly positively correlates with anxiety and upset personality traits.
Around one-third of the sample experienced preoccupation with fears of having a serious disease, with a trivial number of students meeting the criteria for anxiety disorder or hypochondriasis. More than one-third reported negative impacts on sleep, productivity, concentration, and heart rate. Females, Egyptian students, those from rural areas, and dentistry students had higher anxiety scores, whereas medical students had the lowest scores.
医学生普遍经历医学生综合征（MSS），即他们将自己模糊的症状与在医学院所学的医学问题和危及生命的疾病进行比较，尽管他们的健康状况良好。我们的研究旨在调查MSS（一种与焦虑相关的疾病）和疑病症的症状，以及它们对学生生活的影响。此外，我们旨在研究各种类型的人格，最后，调查2023年9月至12月期间埃及医学生中MSS的人口统计学决定因素及其与各种人格类型的相互作用。
这项分析性横断面研究针对从扎加齐格大学医学领域招募的300名学生。数据通过自我管理问卷收集，该问卷由四个主要部分组成：人口统计学数据、MSS问卷、人格类型问卷和MSS的影响。收集到的数据使用R统计软件进行编码和分析。
在招募的300名医学生中，261名（87.0%）是埃及人，164名（54.67%）是女性，216名（72.0%）是无合并症的医学生。181名（60.33%）知晓MSS。只有11名（3.67%）个体符合DSM - V中焦虑症的所有标准，而20名（6.67%）个体符合DSM - IV中疑病症的所有标准。最常见的焦虑症状是睡眠困难（50.00%）、缺乏效率或难以集中注意力（44.0%）以及心率加快（31.67%）。在人格方面，富有同情心和热情的得分中位数最高，为6.00，而挑剔和好争吵的得分中位数最低，为2.00。健康焦虑得分与可靠和自律的人格特质显著负相关，而与焦虑和烦躁的人格特质显著正相关。
约三分之一的样本存在对患重病的担忧，只有少数学生符合焦虑症或疑病症的标准。超过三分之一的人报告对睡眠、效率、注意力和心率有负面影响。女性、埃及学生、来自农村地区的学生以及牙科专业学生的焦虑得分较高，而医学专业学生得分最低。
